It's kind of nostalgic for me, being here, this morning. It's been awhile. About 5 years. It's been longer than that since I moved my blog to a new website.
When I began this blog, in 2011, I wanted to share from a book I wrote some 20 years earlier, but never got published. That first month or so, really I was posting almost every day, and sharing modified excerpts from my book manuscript. I just wanted to share what God had taught me. It was a 2 Timothy 2:2 thing - "The things you have heard from me ... entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
Now, a blog is kind of a shot-gun blast way of doing this. Bang! and BBs fly everywhere and hopefully hit something - a faithful someone - who will "get it" and pass it on to others. But, hey, it's better than not getting it out there at all, right? I certainly hope so.
At any rate, if you've stumbled onto this blog, perhaps because of the hashtag #HeIsARewarder, let me encourage you to go to my newer blog and website at therickcarr.com. My book is soon to be published. At this writing in May 2020, we are looking at a summer release, perhaps early August. The title is Extreme Gratitude.
How I got from He Is a Rewarder to Extreme Gratitude is explained somewhat on the new site and in the book. But in a nutshell, the facts that God exists, and He rewards those who seek Him with the greatest possible reward - Himself, are foundational facts to the message of the book. The actual message is the process of learning to give thanks, to outwardly, joyously express gratitude at a level that doesn't even make sense, but is quite Biblical - Always. For All Things.
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Be All That You Can Be
I saw a post on Twitter to the effect: The only way to receive all that Jesus has for you is to be all that He wants you to be.
It sparked a thought: The only way you can be all that He wants you to be, all that you can be or would like to be, is to receive all that He is. Jack Taylor, in his book The Key to Triumphant Living, shared a prayer. As I recall he said, "Lord, do whatever you need to in me and to me in order to do whatever you want to through me."
In order to be perfect as He is perfect, in order to be all that He wants us to be, we must first be yielded to Him - or as He put it, "deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me." It is as we let go, and allow Him to be our life, that we are able to live the life He desires for us. "The word [logos, message] of the cross [i.e., death, death to self, and the victory that comes with it, and the various implications of it for our Christian life and daily living] is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power [dunamis, inherent capability] of God."
Be all that you can be. It isn't through great training, pride in yourself, or esprit de corps. It isn't through the inherent ability of the human being.
Be all that you can be. It comes through ceasing from your own labor and resting in the finished work of Christ. That is the Sabbath that remains to the people of God. (Heb.4:9-11). That's the Christian Sabbath. It isn't a day of the week. It's a lifestyle of faith - resting in the sufficiency of the Lord to accomplish His will - both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), and to complete that which He has begun in you (Phil. 1:6).
It sparked a thought: The only way you can be all that He wants you to be, all that you can be or would like to be, is to receive all that He is. Jack Taylor, in his book The Key to Triumphant Living, shared a prayer. As I recall he said, "Lord, do whatever you need to in me and to me in order to do whatever you want to through me."
In order to be perfect as He is perfect, in order to be all that He wants us to be, we must first be yielded to Him - or as He put it, "deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me." It is as we let go, and allow Him to be our life, that we are able to live the life He desires for us. "The word [logos, message] of the cross [i.e., death, death to self, and the victory that comes with it, and the various implications of it for our Christian life and daily living] is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power [dunamis, inherent capability] of God."
Be all that you can be. It isn't through great training, pride in yourself, or esprit de corps. It isn't through the inherent ability of the human being.
Be all that you can be. It comes through ceasing from your own labor and resting in the finished work of Christ. That is the Sabbath that remains to the people of God. (Heb.4:9-11). That's the Christian Sabbath. It isn't a day of the week. It's a lifestyle of faith - resting in the sufficiency of the Lord to accomplish His will - both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13), and to complete that which He has begun in you (Phil. 1:6).
Thursday, November 29, 2012
The Power of the Resurrection
I've often wondered as I read Philippians 3:10-11, why the "power of the resurrection" precedes being conformed to His death. I know I've written some insights about it sometime before, probably in my personal journal. I couldn't find anything in my blog archives. I've been considering the resurrection the last few days. I was talking with my daughter about the challenges to our faith and the problem of evil in the world. And I remembered a friend of mine. He was one of my coworkers years ago at a drug treatment center where we were both counselors. He had told me he had once been very active in church, but had rejected that and became an atheist. We were talking about it one day, and he said the one thing that kept him from totally, unreservedly denying the existence of God was the resurrection of Jesus. He said, "I can't get away from that. I can't deny the resurrection. There's just too much evidence for it. And if the resurrection happened, I can't totally deny the existence of God."
Those words have come back to me many times over the years. Sometimes in my own struggles, when circumstances demanded so much attention I began to lose sight of the eternal, I would find myself wondering if my faith was empty and unfounded; if God really did hear my prayers; if He really cared. Then I'd think of the resurrection and remember Mike's words. And working backwards from the reality of the resurrection, I'd be reassured.
As things go wrong, when we're hurt by others, when we experience any type of loss, ideally, our grip on the material, temporal world is shaken by our suffering and we are reminded to embrace the greater reality of the eternal. Righteousness is ours by faith in Jesus and provided by God on the basis of faith (Philippians 3:9), and we come to know Him better and more intimately.
We see the power of the resurrection. We see it, and we know it. The resurrection is the key. It sets Christianity apart from all other religions. No other religion has a deity who chose to come to earth and take on humanity out of love for mankind, with the express purpose of providing cleansing, forgiveness, mercy and fellowship. There are other religions that have a dying god, but without exception, they died because of the cruelty of some other god and/or because of their own misdeeds, and almost without exception, tied to the coming of winter. Other religions have a god who rises from the dead. But that "resurrection" is tied to the seasonal "rebirth" of life in the Springtime - foundational to a worship of creation and repeated from year to year. Only Jesus died once and for all time - innocent of all sin Himself, but taking on the sins of mankind, proclaiming, "It is finished (fulfilled, completed)" - and rose once and for all - all for the benefit of others - so that all men might be able to enter into fellowship with the living God.
The apostles and approximately 500 others witnessed Him alive after His resurrection. They weren't a ragtag bunch of militant revolutionaries pursuing a cause after the death of their leader. They saw Him alive from the dead and saw Him ascend into heaven. They knew from personal, sensory, scientifically undeniable observation that He was who He had claimed to be and had done what He had promised to do. He had conquered death that they might have eternal life. He was the living mercy seat where man could meet God. The problem they faced was not whether or not they believed this. It was undeniable reality. The problem they faced was that they could not deny it, even when threatened with torture and death. And every one of the apostles and many others were executed because they could not and would not deny what they had seen with their own eyes.
The cross of Jesus was the turning point of history, but only because He overcame death and rose to life again. If there was no "life side" of the cross, it would be meaningless. Had it ended with the cross, "Christianity" would have been just a footnote in history. His followers would have scattered. If His promise of conquering the grave was a lie, it all would have died. There would have been no empowering by the Holy Spirit. If there were no resurrection of Christ, then Christianity would be just another empty religion with no power and no future hope, all based on a lie. If there is a God, without the resurrection, Christianity would be a lie about God Himself, claiming He did something He did not do. Or, there simply is no God at all. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:13-19, we are living and dying for a lie, and deserve to be pitied.
But, the resurrection did happen. Christ is our redeemer. He is our eternal mercy seat where we may abide in the presence of the living God and experience His love, grace, mercy, and fellowship. Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ.
The sufferings of this life serve to bring us into fellowship with Him. They can teach us that eternal reality supersedes temporal reality. They can teach us to let go of "stuff" and to embrace our Heavenly, eternal Lord. They facilitate our learning to die to self and take up our cross to follow Him - being conformed to His death. The power of His resurrection is the power that makes the cross efficacious in our lives. Paul had the order correct:
That I may know Him,
and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings
being conformed to His death
that I might attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Those words have come back to me many times over the years. Sometimes in my own struggles, when circumstances demanded so much attention I began to lose sight of the eternal, I would find myself wondering if my faith was empty and unfounded; if God really did hear my prayers; if He really cared. Then I'd think of the resurrection and remember Mike's words. And working backwards from the reality of the resurrection, I'd be reassured.
As things go wrong, when we're hurt by others, when we experience any type of loss, ideally, our grip on the material, temporal world is shaken by our suffering and we are reminded to embrace the greater reality of the eternal. Righteousness is ours by faith in Jesus and provided by God on the basis of faith (Philippians 3:9), and we come to know Him better and more intimately.
We see the power of the resurrection. We see it, and we know it. The resurrection is the key. It sets Christianity apart from all other religions. No other religion has a deity who chose to come to earth and take on humanity out of love for mankind, with the express purpose of providing cleansing, forgiveness, mercy and fellowship. There are other religions that have a dying god, but without exception, they died because of the cruelty of some other god and/or because of their own misdeeds, and almost without exception, tied to the coming of winter. Other religions have a god who rises from the dead. But that "resurrection" is tied to the seasonal "rebirth" of life in the Springtime - foundational to a worship of creation and repeated from year to year. Only Jesus died once and for all time - innocent of all sin Himself, but taking on the sins of mankind, proclaiming, "It is finished (fulfilled, completed)" - and rose once and for all - all for the benefit of others - so that all men might be able to enter into fellowship with the living God.
The apostles and approximately 500 others witnessed Him alive after His resurrection. They weren't a ragtag bunch of militant revolutionaries pursuing a cause after the death of their leader. They saw Him alive from the dead and saw Him ascend into heaven. They knew from personal, sensory, scientifically undeniable observation that He was who He had claimed to be and had done what He had promised to do. He had conquered death that they might have eternal life. He was the living mercy seat where man could meet God. The problem they faced was not whether or not they believed this. It was undeniable reality. The problem they faced was that they could not deny it, even when threatened with torture and death. And every one of the apostles and many others were executed because they could not and would not deny what they had seen with their own eyes.
The cross of Jesus was the turning point of history, but only because He overcame death and rose to life again. If there was no "life side" of the cross, it would be meaningless. Had it ended with the cross, "Christianity" would have been just a footnote in history. His followers would have scattered. If His promise of conquering the grave was a lie, it all would have died. There would have been no empowering by the Holy Spirit. If there were no resurrection of Christ, then Christianity would be just another empty religion with no power and no future hope, all based on a lie. If there is a God, without the resurrection, Christianity would be a lie about God Himself, claiming He did something He did not do. Or, there simply is no God at all. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:13-19, we are living and dying for a lie, and deserve to be pitied.
But, the resurrection did happen. Christ is our redeemer. He is our eternal mercy seat where we may abide in the presence of the living God and experience His love, grace, mercy, and fellowship. Jesus is the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ.
The sufferings of this life serve to bring us into fellowship with Him. They can teach us that eternal reality supersedes temporal reality. They can teach us to let go of "stuff" and to embrace our Heavenly, eternal Lord. They facilitate our learning to die to self and take up our cross to follow Him - being conformed to His death. The power of His resurrection is the power that makes the cross efficacious in our lives. Paul had the order correct:
That I may know Him,
and the power of His resurrection
and the fellowship of His sufferings
being conformed to His death
that I might attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Love, Early Church Style
If we loved as Christ loved, and as the early Christians loved, would we divide into denominations?
"We who used to hate and destroy one another, and would not live with men of a different tribe because of their different manners, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies." Justin Martyr (c. 160)
Reading that, it struck me odd that for the last several centuries, we have divided into increasing numbers of denominations and subgroups - tribes, if you will. And, often, we have little to do with those of different tribes because of their different "manners." Rarely do we faithfully pray for one another, even within our own church, much less those from another church, and still much less those of other denominations.
If we loved as Christ loved, and as the early Christians loved, we would distinguish more clearly and more faithfully between a person and his or her actions.
"Loving one's enemies does not mean loving wickedness, ungodliness, adultery, or theft. Rather, it means loving the thief, the ungodly person, and the adulterer. Not as far as he sins (in respect of the actions by which he stains the name of man), but as he is a man and is the work of God." Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
"What else is the preservation of humanity than to love a man because he is a man and the same as ourselves? . . . If it is contrary to nature to injure a man, it must be in accordance with nature to benefit a man. And he who does not do this deprives himself of the title of a man." Lactantius (c. 304-313)
Honestly, I believe that's where most Christians reside. The majority of Christians are loving, and do distinguish between the sinner and the sin. However, the action of a minority, albeit perhaps a large minority, come across as harsh, condescending, judgmental, and sometimes cruel or hateful. When that happens, people will respond in kind. And, their loud claims of hatred &/or phobic behavior resonates with those who desire to remain in darkness, and the world accepts the lie that all Christians are like that. In truth, it's an excuse by the sinner to further justify his/her behavior. However, it's a very convenient excuse handed to them by people who totally do not understand the level of love Christ expected from his disciples: "Love one another," "love your neighbor," and even "love your enemy." When Jesus said your righteousness should exceed that of the Pharisees, He didn't mean you should live by an even longer list of rules.
If we loved as Christ loved, and as the early Christians loved, we would be recognizable as true followers of Christ. Our lives would be evidence of the existence of God and the veracity of the Gospel.
"Our religion commands us to love even our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us. . . . For everyone loves those who love them. It is unique to Christians to love those who hate them." Tertullian (c.212)
And, as Jesus Himself also taught: "By this all men will know you are my disciples, when you love one another."
Think about it. "All men" aren't there to see us "turn to the person next to you and tell them you love them." Such declarations during our church services at the urging of the clergy are not quite what the Lord meant by "love one another." Loving one another is as much what we do outside the four walls of our meeting places as is loving our neighbor and loving our enemies.
"We who used to hate and destroy one another, and would not live with men of a different tribe because of their different manners, now, since the coming of Christ, live familiarly with them, and pray for our enemies." Justin Martyr (c. 160)
Reading that, it struck me odd that for the last several centuries, we have divided into increasing numbers of denominations and subgroups - tribes, if you will. And, often, we have little to do with those of different tribes because of their different "manners." Rarely do we faithfully pray for one another, even within our own church, much less those from another church, and still much less those of other denominations.
If we loved as Christ loved, and as the early Christians loved, we would distinguish more clearly and more faithfully between a person and his or her actions.
"Loving one's enemies does not mean loving wickedness, ungodliness, adultery, or theft. Rather, it means loving the thief, the ungodly person, and the adulterer. Not as far as he sins (in respect of the actions by which he stains the name of man), but as he is a man and is the work of God." Clement of Alexandria (c. 195)
"What else is the preservation of humanity than to love a man because he is a man and the same as ourselves? . . . If it is contrary to nature to injure a man, it must be in accordance with nature to benefit a man. And he who does not do this deprives himself of the title of a man." Lactantius (c. 304-313)
Honestly, I believe that's where most Christians reside. The majority of Christians are loving, and do distinguish between the sinner and the sin. However, the action of a minority, albeit perhaps a large minority, come across as harsh, condescending, judgmental, and sometimes cruel or hateful. When that happens, people will respond in kind. And, their loud claims of hatred &/or phobic behavior resonates with those who desire to remain in darkness, and the world accepts the lie that all Christians are like that. In truth, it's an excuse by the sinner to further justify his/her behavior. However, it's a very convenient excuse handed to them by people who totally do not understand the level of love Christ expected from his disciples: "Love one another," "love your neighbor," and even "love your enemy." When Jesus said your righteousness should exceed that of the Pharisees, He didn't mean you should live by an even longer list of rules.
If we loved as Christ loved, and as the early Christians loved, we would be recognizable as true followers of Christ. Our lives would be evidence of the existence of God and the veracity of the Gospel.
"Our religion commands us to love even our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us. . . . For everyone loves those who love them. It is unique to Christians to love those who hate them." Tertullian (c.212)
And, as Jesus Himself also taught: "By this all men will know you are my disciples, when you love one another."
Think about it. "All men" aren't there to see us "turn to the person next to you and tell them you love them." Such declarations during our church services at the urging of the clergy are not quite what the Lord meant by "love one another." Loving one another is as much what we do outside the four walls of our meeting places as is loving our neighbor and loving our enemies.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Godliness vs. Religion
I have long said Christianity is not a religion, it's a relationship. I don't recall reading it or hearing it from someone else before I came to that conviction, but I know I'm not the first to say it, much less the only one.
Maybe I got it from a previous word study in 2 Peter 1:5-7, or some other occasion when I looked up the word "godliness" in a Greek lexicon. Wherever, or whenever, I originally realized it, I found the following this morning as I was reading this passage and looking up the character qualities Peter listed in these verses.
According to Bullinger's Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament:
"eusebeia, godliness. [The opposite of threskeia, religion. Eusebeia relates to real, true, vital, and spiritual relationship with God: while threskeia relates to the outward acts of religious observances or ceremonies, which can be performed by the flesh. Our English word 'religion' was never used in the sense of true godliness. It always meant the outward forms of worship.]" (bold emphasis mine)
While there are various acts and observances that a part of Christianity, particularly when we gather to worship, to varying degrees with the varying denominations, etc. True godliness, and true Christianity, is independent of these acts and observances, rites and rituals. It can exist without them.
And godliness isn't about what we do, but about what He has done.
1 Peter 1:3-4 "...His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and excellence, for by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."
And, in 1 Timothy 3:15-16. How are we to behave? What is the basis for the outward expression of our faith? Our own attempts at religious acts, actions, rules, observances, etc? Nope. Jesus. Just Jesus. It really is all about Him - knowing Him, being in relationship with Him:
"...I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Beheld by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory."
(Oh, and that isn't referring to the church building. The New Testament church was never a building. It is the people of God, the followers of Christ. We are His house. See Hebrews 3:6, 1 Corinthians 3:16, and compare Acts 2:1-3 with 2 Chr. 7:1-3. And for more on godliness and the difference between true Christianity and religion, see my earlier blogs: http://heisarewarder.blogspot.com/2011/03/sabbath-rest-pt3.html and http://heisarewarder.blogspot.com/2011/07/sabbath-day-lords-day-or-sabbath-rest.html.)
Maybe I got it from a previous word study in 2 Peter 1:5-7, or some other occasion when I looked up the word "godliness" in a Greek lexicon. Wherever, or whenever, I originally realized it, I found the following this morning as I was reading this passage and looking up the character qualities Peter listed in these verses.
According to Bullinger's Critical Lexicon and Concordance to the English and Greek New Testament:
"eusebeia, godliness. [The opposite of threskeia, religion. Eusebeia relates to real, true, vital, and spiritual relationship with God: while threskeia relates to the outward acts of religious observances or ceremonies, which can be performed by the flesh. Our English word 'religion' was never used in the sense of true godliness. It always meant the outward forms of worship.]" (bold emphasis mine)
While there are various acts and observances that a part of Christianity, particularly when we gather to worship, to varying degrees with the varying denominations, etc. True godliness, and true Christianity, is independent of these acts and observances, rites and rituals. It can exist without them.
And godliness isn't about what we do, but about what He has done.
1 Peter 1:3-4 "...His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of him who called us by His own glory and excellence, for by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."
And, in 1 Timothy 3:15-16. How are we to behave? What is the basis for the outward expression of our faith? Our own attempts at religious acts, actions, rules, observances, etc? Nope. Jesus. Just Jesus. It really is all about Him - knowing Him, being in relationship with Him:
"...I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Beheld by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory."
(Oh, and that isn't referring to the church building. The New Testament church was never a building. It is the people of God, the followers of Christ. We are His house. See Hebrews 3:6, 1 Corinthians 3:16, and compare Acts 2:1-3 with 2 Chr. 7:1-3. And for more on godliness and the difference between true Christianity and religion, see my earlier blogs: http://heisarewarder.blogspot.com/2011/03/sabbath-rest-pt3.html and http://heisarewarder.blogspot.com/2011/07/sabbath-day-lords-day-or-sabbath-rest.html.)
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Embracing Life
I have been so blessed during my visits and photography sessions with cancer survivors. Maybe it's because they've come so close to losing live that they embrace life with such a passion. It makes me aware how blessed I am to be a survivor. It's been a factor in the work the Lord has been doing in my own life recently. The lessons about which I've blogged and which I wrote in my book nearly 20 years ago are becoming more and more a part of me, more and more real to me.
We are made to love God. He is willing to be loved by us. He is, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Life is made up of both good and bad. Some people resist this as best they can with avoidance or denial. Most accept it. It is those who embrace this truth that are able to truly know overwhelming victory in all things. If we truly embrace both the good and the bad of life, we can win. How do you embrace the bad? You know that God is, and that He cares for you, and that He is using all things to mold us into the image of Christ and to bring glory to Himself. You know that He is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted/tested/tried beyond what you are able, and will with the testing provide a way of escape (1 Cor. 1:9, 10:13). You die to self and your own desires, cease from your own laborious efforts, and rest in Him - a 24/7 perpetual Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9-11). You don't settle for the relief, the diversions, the so-called solutions that the world offers. You make knowing Him your first priority. Ultimately, you thank Him. Thank Him for all things (Ephesians 5:20) - both the good and the bad, because you know, and you know beyond any doubt, that He is doing the two things you want most in all the world, in all of life - He is bring glory to Himself, and He is molding you into the image of Christ.
Embrace Him. Then embrace life. Embrace the fact that life has both good and bad - both are used by God. It isn't that He causes the bad, all though He's willing to accept the blame when we're still working through it all and feel like blaming Him. In reality, it is how He makes Satan of no effect. Evil doesn't happen because the evil one feels like being a malicious little imp and inflicting pain on you. It happens because the evil one sees you as dust, and wants to make you see yourself as dust - of no value to God or man, and to make you ultimately reject God. When you embrace the good and the bad and allow God to use all things for His glory and to use all things to mold you into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), you are dying to self, embracing the cross and the power of the resurrection and Satan is made of no effect (Heb. 2:14).
Why did I become a photographer? Why did I have cancer? Why anything? I'm not sure "why?" is the right question? I'm not even sure "How are You going to use this?" is the right question. Actually, I'm thinking a question is not needed. I'm thinking it's more like:
"Wow! This is awesome. Look what God has done! He's done great things for me. He's using my battle with cancer to help make me the man He's always wanted me to be. He's creating new abilities in me. He's creating new vision, new passion."
Whether I live another 30 or 40 years, or 3 or 4 years - I'm alive, with a God who loves me and makes Himself available to me. I can hear the wind blowing outside. Feel the gentle breeze through the screen door. Smell the grass and trees, with a little hint of skunk. I can feel the warmth of my wife's embrace; see all the things she does to help me through life's challenges. She's an amazing partner, a gift from God. I can see the joy in my grand daughter's eyes, hear the joy in her voice as she shouts, "Papa!" and runs to me. I can feel the tightness of her hug as she squeezes me around the neck. I can feel her joy and enthusiasm and love as she delights in my love as much as I do in hers. May my heavenly Father sense my delight in Him, and may we all know more intimately His delight in us.
We are made to love God. He is willing to be loved by us. He is, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Life is made up of both good and bad. Some people resist this as best they can with avoidance or denial. Most accept it. It is those who embrace this truth that are able to truly know overwhelming victory in all things. If we truly embrace both the good and the bad of life, we can win. How do you embrace the bad? You know that God is, and that He cares for you, and that He is using all things to mold us into the image of Christ and to bring glory to Himself. You know that He is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted/tested/tried beyond what you are able, and will with the testing provide a way of escape (1 Cor. 1:9, 10:13). You die to self and your own desires, cease from your own laborious efforts, and rest in Him - a 24/7 perpetual Sabbath rest (Hebrews 4:9-11). You don't settle for the relief, the diversions, the so-called solutions that the world offers. You make knowing Him your first priority. Ultimately, you thank Him. Thank Him for all things (Ephesians 5:20) - both the good and the bad, because you know, and you know beyond any doubt, that He is doing the two things you want most in all the world, in all of life - He is bring glory to Himself, and He is molding you into the image of Christ.
Embrace Him. Then embrace life. Embrace the fact that life has both good and bad - both are used by God. It isn't that He causes the bad, all though He's willing to accept the blame when we're still working through it all and feel like blaming Him. In reality, it is how He makes Satan of no effect. Evil doesn't happen because the evil one feels like being a malicious little imp and inflicting pain on you. It happens because the evil one sees you as dust, and wants to make you see yourself as dust - of no value to God or man, and to make you ultimately reject God. When you embrace the good and the bad and allow God to use all things for His glory and to use all things to mold you into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), you are dying to self, embracing the cross and the power of the resurrection and Satan is made of no effect (Heb. 2:14).
Why did I become a photographer? Why did I have cancer? Why anything? I'm not sure "why?" is the right question? I'm not even sure "How are You going to use this?" is the right question. Actually, I'm thinking a question is not needed. I'm thinking it's more like:
"Wow! This is awesome. Look what God has done! He's done great things for me. He's using my battle with cancer to help make me the man He's always wanted me to be. He's creating new abilities in me. He's creating new vision, new passion."
Whether I live another 30 or 40 years, or 3 or 4 years - I'm alive, with a God who loves me and makes Himself available to me. I can hear the wind blowing outside. Feel the gentle breeze through the screen door. Smell the grass and trees, with a little hint of skunk. I can feel the warmth of my wife's embrace; see all the things she does to help me through life's challenges. She's an amazing partner, a gift from God. I can see the joy in my grand daughter's eyes, hear the joy in her voice as she shouts, "Papa!" and runs to me. I can feel the tightness of her hug as she squeezes me around the neck. I can feel her joy and enthusiasm and love as she delights in my love as much as I do in hers. May my heavenly Father sense my delight in Him, and may we all know more intimately His delight in us.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Dodging Hypocrites
I saw a cartoon by political cartoonist Glenn McCoy that showed two toilets, one with a Koran in it, the other with a Bible. Over the Koran was a sign saying "hate crime." Over the Bible the sign read, "Art." Someone had taken the cartoon and made it into a poster with the caption under it: "Hypocrisy: It's Everywhere." Obviously the point is the hypocrisy in our culture and in the media that accepts brutal criticism, defamation, and mis-characterization of Christianity and labels any similar action toward other religions as criminal. But that's not the point I want to make here.
What struck me is that there really is hypocrisy everywhere. Pick a profession. There's hypocrisy in the media, in medicine, in plumbing, in carpentry, roofing, trucking.... So how do you avoid the hypocrites? Do we stop watching any TV, reading any news anywhere online or in print? Do we quit going to the doctor or dentist? Do we let our pipes leak & our septic tanks overflow because of some dishonest plumber? Do we let our roof rot, fall apart, and leak because of some dishonest roofer? No, because we know there are some out there in any of those professions who are honest and have some integrity. We even may tolerate mistakes from them if we know they didn't intend to fail us and they'll try to make it right.
Yet there are many people who reject Christ, religion as a whole because of the "hypocrites in the church." Sorry, but that doesn't make any more sense than letting your roof cave in because some roofers are hypocrites and take your money and don't deliver a good job. It's as ridiculous as dying of cancer because some doctors are hypocrites who only want to make a buck and don't really care about their patients, or worse, some break the law and hand out illegal prescriptions. Sorry, but I'm going to find an honest doctor who knows what he's doing. I'm going to find an honest roofer who will do the job right for a price that's fair to both of us. And I'm going to find Christian people who really know and love the Lord and hang out with them.
If you read that far, hopefully you get the point. What's below just develops the idea a little further.
Churches are populated by people. Most are Christians. Some are not, but call themselves by that name. Now, people make mistakes. Even sincere Christians are still human, and sometimes fail. Most of us can handle that. I think "hypocrites" in the church fall into two main categories, that are really two versions of one main problem.
But there are some who are just trying Christianity. They don't know the Lord, have no relationship with Him, but are "Christian" because that's the religion they belong to. If Christianity is just a religion, and just another set of rules, it's powerless. It's as powerless as any other religion - based on rules and laws and standards of behavior. This approach to Christianity totally misses the point of the Old Testament: "You can't follow all these rules and be holy in your own strength - you're going to fail"; and the New Testament: "You need a Savior to pay the price of your sins, give you the power by which to live, and open up a relationship between you and God." People who approach Christianity as a religion and a set of rules, are going to fail. It's disappointing when they do, and the sad part is they have no solution to the problem other than to just keep struggling or to give up altogether and decide it doesn't work.
Even worse is when they decide what's needed is a more strict adherence to all the "rules." It becomes all about obedience to the law and what they perceive as "holiness." The worst of these become hyper-critical of others, abusive, and misuse people, even justifying it by Bible verses they totally misunderstand and take out of context. They hurt and wound others without remorse, thinking they are being holy and defending the faith.
Paul addressed this in Galatians 5:4 - "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." The word translated "severed from" is sometimes translated "destroyed" or "done away with" or "made powerless." The idea of it is being made of no effect. It's like those times on your computer where you type something, forget to save it, shut down the computer and totally lose it. You worked. You put forth effort. But there is nothing to show for it. No results. No effect. That's Christianity under law instead of grace.
What struck me is that there really is hypocrisy everywhere. Pick a profession. There's hypocrisy in the media, in medicine, in plumbing, in carpentry, roofing, trucking.... So how do you avoid the hypocrites? Do we stop watching any TV, reading any news anywhere online or in print? Do we quit going to the doctor or dentist? Do we let our pipes leak & our septic tanks overflow because of some dishonest plumber? Do we let our roof rot, fall apart, and leak because of some dishonest roofer? No, because we know there are some out there in any of those professions who are honest and have some integrity. We even may tolerate mistakes from them if we know they didn't intend to fail us and they'll try to make it right.
Yet there are many people who reject Christ, religion as a whole because of the "hypocrites in the church." Sorry, but that doesn't make any more sense than letting your roof cave in because some roofers are hypocrites and take your money and don't deliver a good job. It's as ridiculous as dying of cancer because some doctors are hypocrites who only want to make a buck and don't really care about their patients, or worse, some break the law and hand out illegal prescriptions. Sorry, but I'm going to find an honest doctor who knows what he's doing. I'm going to find an honest roofer who will do the job right for a price that's fair to both of us. And I'm going to find Christian people who really know and love the Lord and hang out with them.
If you read that far, hopefully you get the point. What's below just develops the idea a little further.
Churches are populated by people. Most are Christians. Some are not, but call themselves by that name. Now, people make mistakes. Even sincere Christians are still human, and sometimes fail. Most of us can handle that. I think "hypocrites" in the church fall into two main categories, that are really two versions of one main problem.
But there are some who are just trying Christianity. They don't know the Lord, have no relationship with Him, but are "Christian" because that's the religion they belong to. If Christianity is just a religion, and just another set of rules, it's powerless. It's as powerless as any other religion - based on rules and laws and standards of behavior. This approach to Christianity totally misses the point of the Old Testament: "You can't follow all these rules and be holy in your own strength - you're going to fail"; and the New Testament: "You need a Savior to pay the price of your sins, give you the power by which to live, and open up a relationship between you and God." People who approach Christianity as a religion and a set of rules, are going to fail. It's disappointing when they do, and the sad part is they have no solution to the problem other than to just keep struggling or to give up altogether and decide it doesn't work.
Even worse is when they decide what's needed is a more strict adherence to all the "rules." It becomes all about obedience to the law and what they perceive as "holiness." The worst of these become hyper-critical of others, abusive, and misuse people, even justifying it by Bible verses they totally misunderstand and take out of context. They hurt and wound others without remorse, thinking they are being holy and defending the faith.
Paul addressed this in Galatians 5:4 - "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." The word translated "severed from" is sometimes translated "destroyed" or "done away with" or "made powerless." The idea of it is being made of no effect. It's like those times on your computer where you type something, forget to save it, shut down the computer and totally lose it. You worked. You put forth effort. But there is nothing to show for it. No results. No effect. That's Christianity under law instead of grace.
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