J. Edwards Quote: God is not Narsissus, we are.

“As God delights in his own beauty, he must necessarily delight in the creature’s holiness which is a conformity to and participation of it, as truly as (the) brightness of a jewel, held in the sun’s beams, is a participation or derivation of the sun.’”

- Jonathan Edwards (The End for which God Created the World)

Though it is a constant theme in Scripture, many Christians recoil when confronted with the idea of God’s Delighting in His Own beauty. We simply don’t like it. We want God to delight in us above all things. I want Him to be all about me – my world, my life, my concerns, my beauty, my standing, my reputation, my health. Me and me alone. What a shock it is to our system when we discover that God is all about God – first and foremost; that His desire to glorify Himself takes precedence over every other concern.

When we consider this, we immediately try to “humanize” the idea. Is God not arrogant? How could he demand so much attention without being guilty of selfishness.  We mumble inside our hearts, “God is just an attention hog, that’s what He is. Always demanding our love, demanding our devotion, demanding our worship. He’s just a big old baby!  And if we don’t give Him what He wants then He pouts and thinks about ways to smite us into oblivion.”

Though deeply flawed, it is very natural to think this way.  When we truly contemplate God’s demand to be glorified, it only makes sense to go this direction with our thought. But let’s consider just a couple of things that may help us to move in a better direction.

First of all, let’s understand that God’s love and worship of Himself is not selfish or arrogant, but supremely sacrificial and otherly. I once had a pastoral colleague tell me that he hated the idea of God seeking His own glory. He said that he refused to teach this doctrine to his people because it perpetuated selfishness and made God out to be nothing more than a Narcissistic deity who cared nothing for others.  Is this true?

Just so you know, in Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hero who was renowned for his astounding beauty. In fact, according to most traditions, Narcissus was so beautiful that he fell in love with himself, constantly gazing at his own reflection in a pool of water.  Eventually, so obsessed with his appearance, Narcissus fell into the water and drowned.

Is this God? Is God like Narcissus – self absorbed and arrogant?

This is where the Christian doctrine of the Trinity becomes so imperative. Understanding that God is tri-personal – three persons and one God – affirms that God is communal – in and of Himself. This explains how God has always been loving, and that His love is not contingent upon having a creature on which to bestow that love. God is love, and always has been. God is perfectly able to express that love within the Godhead – the Father loving the Son, the Son loving the Spirit, and so on. Therefore, God’s passion for His Glory is no self absorbed passion no more than His love for Himself is a self-absorbed love. The scripture bears this out for us. When faced with the Crucifixion, Jesus said, “for this purpose I have come unto this hour. Father, glorify your name (John 12:27).”  Also, in John 17:1, Jesus prays, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You.”

Do you see it? We could go on and on to make this point. The Holy Spirit glorifies the Son. The Son glorifies the Father. The Father glorifies the Son and so on. So then, God’s divine compulsion to Glorify Himself is other-ly, sacrificial, and supremely loving. God is not Narcissus, we are. We are the ones who stare at our own reflection. We are the ones who are self-absorbed. When God commands us to Worship Him, it is His invitation for us to enter into community, into self-forgetfulness, and into divine love. Yet, we refuse. Because of our sinful condition, we are addicted to staring into the proverbial pond, fawning over our supposed beauty, preening in self-delight; so much so that we eventually fall headlong into the siren call of those waters, drowning ourselves inside ourselves.

Moving further, let’s also understand that God’s invitation, His command, that we Glorify Him, is not an unloving desire. When God created us, He made us after His own image. This is a mysterious idea. We may never fully understand in this life, nor in the life to come, what it fully means to be created in God’s Image. Yet, we can know this: Just as God Glorifies Himself and enjoys and finds pleasure in that Glory, so He has also made us to Glorify Him and share in the pleasure of that Glory. In other words, we were designed to Glorify God. It is our greatest pleasure and joy. Just as fish were designed for water and birds were designed for flight, so we were made to Glorify God and Love Him supremely.

Think about what Edwards is saying. We are like diamonds that are created for the light of the sun. The brighter the light, the more brilliant the diamond shines, which gives glory back to the wonder of light and color. In the same way, God has made us, to shine like stars in the universe. As we Glorify Christ, we come alive – we are doing what we were designed to do. God glorifies us with His Glory that we might more perfectly Glorify Him. And this is our crown…our design…our ultimate purpose. Thanks be to God, who has sent us Christ Jesus, so that we might be given the desire and ability to glorify God, and in so doing, discover our deepest joy.

Blessings in Christ!

Morning Prayer – February 28, 2008

On this Saturday Morning, I am sitting at the kitchen table in Raleigh. I am here with my family to celebrate the life of our sister in law – Lisa, who is battling breast cancer. She is the wife of Martha Jo’s brother – Bobby Austin, who is the Solo Pastor of a growing church in the Raleigh area. Lisa, only 39 years old, with two adopted children, has fighting this disease for almost two years now. The doctors have found lesions on her liver and a number of small growths on her lungs. At this point, her body has failed to respond to any of the drugs used to treat this type of cancer. She is now trying alternate drugs and we are praying together for a miracle. The The family has gathered in Raleigh to pray for Bobby and Lisa and celebrate their birthdays – both occurring this past week.

This morning, both Bobby and Lisa were struck with a violent stomach virus that has kept them from joining us.

Meanwhile, I believe in, I trust in, I cling to, I rest in, I hope in…the Sovereignty of God. I must believe that God’s hand is in all of this. I must believe that there is more than this life. I must accept that we are all here this weekend by God’s Grace. I must believe that Bobby and Lisa are exactly where Christ wants them to be. We are where He wants us to be. We are at His Loving Mercy. We are in His Grace Filled Grip.

_______________________________

Christ Jesus…Father…O Spirit of God…may your will be done, your kingdom come, your Word be spoken, your Story be told, on earth, just as it is in heaven. Dark threads…light threads. Your Story is a tapestry that is woven with dark threads and light threads. Joys and Sorrows. Pain and Pleasure. Grief and Gladness. You invite us to share in Your Sufferings. You embrace us in the yoke of your love. You weave us into your Glorious Narrative. This tapestry is Eternal. No sorrow is without reason. No pain without a reason. We are here, Lord Jesus. We are gathered at your feet. We await the wine of your Suffering. We dine on the bread of your Brokeness. We count ourselves blessed to be called your Beloved. Dark Threads and Light Threads. Joys and Sorrows. We are yours. Bobby and Lisa are yours. Abby and Jalin are yours. Bob and Jane are yours. Ron. Elizabeth. Austin. Anna. Allie . Tim. Martha Jo. Callie. Camp. Kurt. Susan. Sophie.

In grief and in gladness, In sickness and in health, yearning for Your glorious return, along with all creation, groaning for your redemption, until the day of your appearing…We are yours.

Father, pour your Covenant Blessings upon Bob Austin and his entire household. Hold Lisa in your tender hands. Whisper words of encouragement to her soul. As she continues to cleave to life, may you be the Life that cleaves to her, until such a time as you deem best to call her into the joyful Blessedness of Your approving smile. Give Bobby that temerity of Spirit, the courage and the grace, that is willing to travel with Lisa to the precipice of your Promised Home, and to place her hand in Yours, knowing that his beloved bride has always been more your daughter, than his wife; more Your Beloved than his.

Yet, until such a moment as this, help Bobby, and we, to cherish every moment, smile in every sorrow, dance in every shadow, and delight in every tear; knowing that one day we shall be free, that Your Divine tapestry shall be revealed and that all flesh shall see it together.

Thank you for the Cross, Jesus. Thank you for the Story. Thank your for Dark Threads and Light Threads.

We are yours.

Amen.

Ash Wednesday, Spiders, Jonathan Edwards, and the Glory of God in Small Things

“We hence see the exuberant goodness of the Creator, who hath not only provided for all the necessities, but also for the pleasure and recreation of all sorts of creatures, and even the insects and those that are most despicable.”

- Jonathan Edwards “Of Insects”

On this Ash Wednesday, as we begin the season of Lent, I would like to consider together with you the Grace of Christ that lurks in the nooks and crannies of our lives. On this somber day, for a moment, let’s allow the possibility that the Grace of Jesus is not wholly seen by our eyes; not fully heard by our ears; not truly understood in our perception. Grace is not often gaudy, but quiet, moving slowly and effortlessly within our hearts and in the world around us.

In the Scriptures we read about the faith of a mustard seed moving mountains and about being faithful in small things and about Christ saying suffer not the little children to come unto me and about Christ knowing how many hairs are on our heads and that He feeds tiny birds and clothes the wild flowers in beauty. Among other things, I think these verses tell us that Christ cares about small things…in between things…what we might call boring things.

Yesterday I read an article by Jonathan Edwards – one of the greatest theological minds ever to live in America. The article was about the beauty and wonder of spiders. Edwards went into intricate detail about how spiders, almost invisible to men, hop from tree to tree and shoot a miraculous “liquor” out of their tails to spin their webs. He explains that their webs are spun in the full light of day, yet we do not see them unless the light and our line of sight come together at the proper angle.

(They) are so exceeding small and fine as that they cannot be discerned except held in a particular position with respect to the sun.”

These tiny creatures, dancing in the shadows, after fulfilling their divine purpose, eventually construct a substance from their webs that enables them to fly by catching hold of the breeze, taking them out over the ocean and into the sea.

Edwards says that he learned these things about spiders through careful observation, which means he must have spent time out in the fields, observing the insect world. He went on to say that this taught him much about the Wisdom of God and how God does such miraculous “little things” among the insects.

Reading Edwards’ words caused met to consider my nature and the modern culture in which I live. We claim that we cannot hear God and never imagine that it is our pride that clogs our ears and not God’s silence. We, being blind, accuse God of hiding from us. We demand that Christ speak to us with large, over hanging words, written by hand in ornate calligraphy, replete with personal affirmations and affections. We order Christ to play his music according to our tastes, to dance a jig for us, to make much of us, to entertain us. We forcefully require Christ to be our Jester and not our King; we order the Church to be our spiritual muse while rejecting her as our mother.

Meanwhile, thinking ourselves abandoned and betrayed, we are absolutely drenched in the Glories of God. We are swimming in the Grace of Christ. We sit at a Banquet Table with clenched lips and accuse God of starving us to death while Manna falls from the heavens; but our eyes are closed. Our Line of Sight is not adjusted to the Sun. The spiders in the fields weave wonderful tapestries from the tip of their tails and ride the wind into the seas; but we do not see. The heavens are telling a story. Nature is singing a song. The Gospel drips from the trees as each branch reaches for the skies, lifting holy hands to the world’s Redeemer. But we cannot hear nor see nor feel the music because we are blind, deaf, unfeeling, unthinking…numb and jaded by our idolatry.

Yet, it is in the small things…in the life in between, in the so called boring stuff of life, where our Savior dwells; And holding out His Gracious hand, to blind and silly men, our Messiah, not our Jester, lifts us up into the Full Light of Day, and singing soft the song of Mystery, He invites us to the Cross. As we bow our ashen heads on this first day of Lent to consider our hearts before God, may the Lord fully awaken every spiritual sensibility, that we may know the Resurrection joy that continually holds us in the quiet Grace of Christ.

Note: Just so you know, Edwards was only 11 years old when he made these observations. You can read his article “Of Insects” by clicking HERE.

Scripture Verses to Consider…

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matt 5:3

“Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 19:14

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.” – Luke 16:10

“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” – Matthew 6:26

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard.” – Psalm 19:1-3

I Have A Gospel Dream – Revisiting Dr. King’s Famous Address

I am a child of the civil rights movement. I grew up as a minority white kid in inner city Atlanta, Georgia during the volatile season of the late 1960s and early 70s. The desegregation movement sent me, along with a hand full of white kids, to the previously all black Elementary School known as C.D. Hubert. My sixth grade year, on the first day of class, Coretta Scott King, Dr. Martin Luther King’s wife, spoke at C.D. Hubert to encourage us to embrace one another and to remember the reason her husband died. We ended that meeting as we did every all-school meeting, with students and teachers, black and white, raising their hands together and singing in on voice – “We shall overcome”

However, as a ‘minority’ white kid, I sometimes became the face of the enemy. In 1977 I attended a brand new school named Martin Luther King Middle. The week that the miniseries “Roots” was aired on television, I was attacked five times by angry black kids who blamed me for American slavery. I also suffered at the hands of a few racist teachers in the days when it was legal to spank children who forgot to finish their homework. My spankings tended to be much worse. In fact, one beating was so severe that it left me with deep bruises on my legs and backside. My mother saw to it that the teacher resigned. Yet, somehow, in the midst of all of that drama, I avoided becoming a racist. I didn’t hate black people. Somehow I was able to see that the major differences in people were not determined by the color of their skin, as Dr. King so eloquently puts it in his “I Have a Dream” speech, but by the content of their character. In the world that I grew up in, there were mean and evil and broken black people, and there were mean and evil and broken white people.

Yet, at the same time, there existed remarkably loving people of color like my elementary school music teacher – Mr. Fleming – who discovered that I had a voice that could sing with the soul of black man (his words). He taught me to use my voice and he put me right up in the front of the Black Gospel Choir, singing the lead in “Going Up Yonder.” I also had great and loyal friends like L.D. Hull, Eddie James, David Fields, and another kid named David that we all called “Skee Ball”. We were determined not to allow the racism of our culture to shape how we felt about each other.

Sadly, as things go, my family moved from inner-city Atlanta at the end of my sophomore year and I lost touch with my childhood friends. But those days gave me a paradigm for seeing the world. People are not evil because of the color of their melanin. They are evil because of the darkness in their hearts. As a child, I memorized Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech. It has stuck with me through the years and I have recently had the opportunity to analyze the speech and to think about its message. Ultimately, the speech really is a homily about heaven. It is a speech about the Church. It is a speech drawn from the truth of the Gospel and almost lifted from the pages of Isaiah. It is a speech that could only be written by someone who possessed a Christian view of the world.

Yet, with no disrespect to Dr. King, the speech does not go far enough. The heart of our collective Dream must rise above the struggles of the civil rights movement. It must speak to something deeper…something more. It must speak to something eternal. Because at the end of the day, our hope is not found in the human spirit to overcome. Our hope cannot rest in our ability to save ourselves. Our hope is not in Barak Obama or Martin Luther King or Bono or Mother Teresa or John Calvin. If we understand the Gospel rightly, we must admit that our one and only True Hope must rest in Jesus Christ, and in Jesus Christ alone. There is no one else who can change the content of our character. No one else can rescue us from the wretchedness of sin or the ugliness of hate. Only the Cross can save us. And only through Christ can we ever hope to be truly “free at last”.

With these thoughts in mind, as way to commemorate my respect for Dr. Martin Luther King, and with a desire to root Dr. King’s thought more clearly in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I have re-written the “I Have a Dream Speech”. Somehow, I don’t think Dr. King would mind.

I call this speech, “I Have a Gospel Dream.”

Click at the top to Listen or click below to Dowload…

I Have A Gospel Dream – Audio

I Have A Gospel Dream – PDF Document

The Gospel is Sacrosanct: The Scripture Rainbow

When Christoph Römhild, a Lutheran pastor in Hamburg, Germany, sent Carnegie Mellon Ph.D. student Chris Harrison a list of 63,779 cross-references between the Bible’s 1,189 chapters, the two became enthralled with elegantly showing the interconnected nature of Scripture. Each bar along the horizontal axis represents a chapter, with the length determined by the number of verses. (Books alternate in color between white and light gray.) Colors represent the distance between references. Graphic by Chris Harrison, Carnegie Mellon University.

A friend of mine, and fellow pastor, Mark Upton says, “This visual representation of just how interconnected the Bible is (is just one more) reason I believe in the Divine Inspiration of Scripture. No conspiracy of man made teachings could actually be this tight and coherent.”

The Gospel is indeed Sacrosanct.

By the way…take note that the strand coming down right in the middle is the longest chapter in the Bible – Psalm 119 – which extols the riches of the Word of God.

Celebrating Christmas in a Season of Economic Crisis

Below is an article that I recently published in our church newsletter…

I don’t know if you have noticed (of course you have), but America is in a pretty serious economic recession. This financial crisis has certainly affected our church. Over the past several months, I have talked with a number of families and individuals at Surfside PCA who are feeling the impact – retired couples who have lost more than half of their retirement nest egg, craftsmen who have nothing left to build, real estate agents who have no buyers or sellers, and small business owners who have gone belly up. There are a good number who are facing the reality of losing their home, losing their automobiles, and to be sure, some are even having a difficult time putting food on the table.

In the midst of these challenges, we approach Christmas – the season of buying and selling and giving gifts. I think it is safe to assume that this is not good news for most of us. In fact, instead of a time of celebration and cheer, the Christmas Season may feel like a swift kick to the head of a guy who is already down. If you identify with what I’m saying, allow me to offer a word of spiritual encouragement

First of all, let’s admit that there is not a lot we can do to change our circumstances. Our economy is in trouble and none of us can change that by working harder. Not one person that I have talked to is hurting financially because they are lazy. They are willing to work hard, but that is not the issue. No amount of hard work and ingenuity can change their situation. We are now beginning to feel the weight of our true needs.  It’s not as if we didn’t have those needs before, but without the cushion of financial security, we feel those needs more deeply.  Aren’t we all in desperate Spiritual need all the time? Isn’t this why we needed Jesus to “move in next door” to us, to become a man, to give His life? This Christmas season provides us with a great opportunity to worship Jesus. We are desperate. We have come to the end of ourselves. We need Jesus to dwell with us.

Secondly, let’s admit that we do not consist of the things we own or the money we have or the jobs that we do. The Scripture tells us that we are more than what we wear or what we eat. Now more than ever, we have the opportunity to feel that truth. We may not have jobs or money or financial security, but we do have our spouses, our children, our church family and most of all, we have Christ Jesus – the greatest gift that God could give us. Jesus never owned a home. Never had a savings account. The Son of Man had no place to lay his head. Yet, he was satisfied with the love of His Father. He trusted that His Father would commune with Him and ultimately would provide for Him. When He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus said, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus makes it clear that His greatest need was not food or shelter, but His greatest need was to commune with His Father. As hard as it may seem, and as foreign as it may be to our flesh, isn’t this also true for us.  We may not want to believe it.  But ultimately, we need Jesus to feed us.

Finally, let’s admit that we can still celebrate this Christmas season by giving gifts. What an opportunity we have. Jesus came into the earth as the King of Kings and gave us the greatest gift He could possibly give – He gave us Himself. He sacrificed Himself that He might give us Freedom; that He might give us Hope, that He might give us Love. Church, you can do the same. Maybe you do not have “silver or gold” but what do you have? You have the Love of Christ. You have Hope. You have Freedom. So, this Christmas season feel free to mourn over what you have lost.  That is perfectly legitimate.  Cry out to the Father.  Cry out to Christ.  Jesus mourns with you.  He knows what you are going through.  Do not allow your circumstances to drive you away from Christ.  Instead, allow your desperation to drive you to the foot of the Cross.  Yet, do not simply mourn what you have lost.  Allow Christ to take you further, so that you might also celebrate what you have. You have Jesus!  You have Hope.  You have Freedom.  If the Lord has blessed you financially, give to others who are need in our church.  Give sacrificially and celebrate the Gospel. If you have no money, consider what you do have and give that. Give Cheer. Give Hope. Give time. Give your heart. Give your Love. Remember Christian, no man is impoverished who has Christ.

O come, O come Immanuel
And ransom captive Israel
Who mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Immanuel shall come to thee O Israel

Religion v. The Gospel

Below is an article that compares the aims of Religion v. the aims of The Gospel. The article was originally constructed by Rev. Tim Keller, a PCA pastor in Manhattan. I have refurbished it a bit. Have a read. I would relish any comments or observations! (FYI – I have included a link to the Word Document if you would like to download it by clicking here -  religion-v-the-gospel

Word Document: religion-versus-the-gospel

Halloween: A beautiful picture of Grace

Well Halloween has come and gone and I am grateful that this year I heard far less “crazy Christian Halloween talk” than I have in years previous. Maybe it was the distraction of the coming presidential election that kept most evangelicals from thinking about the horrors of Halloween, but this year I didn’t hear anyone talking about burning Harry Potter books, or praying against Satan, or dressing their children up as Bible characters.

This year, instead of absenting ourselves from a “pagan” holiday, our church had a community festival. That’s right. On October 31st, All Hallows Eve, Surfside Presbyterian Church had blow-up games and dunking booths. We gave out candy and had a box maze and a pie eating contest and all kinds of kids and parents came and dressed up like princesses and superheroes and some even dressed up like monsters. It was a great time for all and a blessing to our community here in south Myrtle Beach. I thought it was great.

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. I don’t know why really. It just has. My childhood memories are filled with bags of candy and Charlie Brown’s “The Great Pumpkin”. I loved it…and I still do. As a matter of fact, out of all the American Holidays, I think that Halloween may be the best at exemplifying the Grace of Jesus Christ. Let’s take a look at it.

On all Hallows Eve, people disguise themselves, dress up like monsters, and go up to a door with an empty bag. They knock on the door and hold out the bag and a neighbor opens the door. The person smiles and says, “Wow, you’re scary! Who are you? Are you a Vampire?” The little kid nods. Then the neighbor laughs and gives the child encouragement, and pours candy into their empty satchel. Doesn’t that sound like the Gospel? It does to me.

The Gospel says that we are all evil monsters who have nothing to offer anyone. We are poor and empty and hiding, walking around begging for someone to fill our empty hearts. Jesus moves into our neighborhood and bids us come in to sup with Him. We knock on Christ’s door and He opens up His home and His heart. “Wow, you’re scary! Who are you supposed to be?” Jesus asks. “I’m a Vampire. I’m a Witch. I’m a Monster,” we say behind our masks. Then Jesus fills up our hearts with the Grace of God, not because we deserve it or because we’re cute, but because we really are monsters and desperately need what He has to offer.

That’s why Halloween is a great picture of the Gospel. It’s a picture of me going to Jesus. Empty, desperate, hiding, and receiving gifts that I cannot buy and love that I cannot earn. That’s why, at my house, we call Halloween by it’s appropriate name – “Grace Night: A night for monsters to come out of hiding.” For years, this is what I have taught my children. They don’t know that Halloween is a night for “pagan Satan worship”. They think it’s a night to worship Jesus. A night to remember the Grace that we have been given and a night to give Jesus thanks for welcoming Vampires and Witches and Monsters into His loving arms. And all we need to receive His grace is a beggars’ desperate posture.

So next year, when October 31st rolls around, be sure to dress your worst and go door to door begging for candy. Just remember, it’s not Halloween. It’s Grace Night. Don’t forget to bring an empty bag.

Do I Believe in Jesus?

I teach a college aged Bible Study on Sunday Mornings.  Over the past several months we have been going through 1 John and as we walked through the book one thing seemed to emerge right out of the pages and dance before our very eyes…Jesus is Grace.  When John speaks of Loving one Another – he is not talking about a love that can be separated from the Love of Christ.  When John speaks of holiness he is not talking about a holiness that exists apart from the Holiness of Christ.  When John says “Do not Sin”  he is not talking about behavior modification, he is talking about the idolatry that leads us away from Christ.  Christ is our Grace.  There is no Grace apart from Him.  John culminates this idea in 1 John 3:23 – “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.”

The First Command?  “Believe in Jesus!”  There is no other way to please God.  Believe in the name of Christ!  This is our righteousness.  This is our Grace!  And this gives us Grace upon Grace to obey the Second Command…to Love one another as He has commanded us. 

Isn’t it strange that the Apostle should feel the need to command us to Believe?  I think most of us assume that we believe.  We think that that should be the easy part.  But it isn’t.  In fact, there could not be anything more difficult for us.  ”Believing in Jesus” really is the command that is impossible without Grace.  We need Jesus, so that we might believe in Jesus.  Everything else in the Christian life dances forever around this central truth.  Whenever we move away from believing in Jesus, we move toward idolatry.  And when we move away from Jesus, we move away from love, away from forgiving, away from grace.  This is why John ends his letter with this abrupt warning…”Little Children, keep yourselves free from idols.”   

So, do I believe in Jesus?  Do you?  Does believing in Jesus define our Christian life?  Or does our affiliation to a particular political party define it?  Does Jesus define our righteousness or does our moral behavior define it.  Is Jesus our Messiah?  Our Hope?  Or are we holding out for John McCain or Barak Obama?  Do we believe that Jesus is Sovereign?  That He is King?  That Jesus is our power?  That He is our future?  That He is our forgiveness?  That He is our Grace?  Or do we simply treat Jesus as the “Audience of One?”  The God who is watching us.  Making a list.  Checking it twice.  NO!  Jesus in NOT our Audience!  We do not perform for Him.  This is not the Gospel. 

Wake up Tim!  JESUS IS YOUR GRACE! 

Do I believe?  Do you?

1 John 5:1 – Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God

Does my Life Count?

Sometimes I wonder if my life has counted for anything. I am especially wondering that during this season of my life. I am forty-five years old. I have stayed in youth ministry way beyond my prime. I have no money to speak of. I am just now, after 20 years, finishing my master’s degree. I am not an ordained pastor. I rarely get to preach. I have never served communion. I have never baptized anyone. I am 25 pounds overweight. I have acid reflux. My present ministry as an Assistant Pastor often leaves me scratching my head, wondering what it is that I really do. To top it all off, I live in a van down by the river!

Not really. I’m not quite Matt Foley. But I’m working on it.

With this said, today I received a remarkably encouraging e-mail from Eric Griffin. I first met Eric several years ago while visiting Rock Hill High School (Rock Hill, SC). Eric was a freshman (or sophomore) who played soccer and sometimes kicked field goals for the football team. After a while, Eric and I formed a friendship and he became a key student leader in our Young Life ministry. Eric is now married to his beautiful wife, Wendy, and he works as a successful businessman with The Cason Group insurance agency.

Today Eric sent me an a note that reminded me of some things that I needed to remember.

Note from Eric…
T…hey man. Just a note of encouragement to you. I was at a retreat all weekend, and the speaker asked us to think about a mentor who really had an impact on our lives. I thought of you and praised God for Him using you in my life 15+ years ago. things i specifically thanked God for were how you were the first person to ever make the Gospel appear attractive and that a walk with Christ included laughing. One other specific thing you told me that I will never forget was when Fowler, Cunnup, and I drove to Johnson City to visit, you shared that the best way you could love your kids is by lving Martha Jo. I remember that often and think of you every time.
I am thankful for you T and miss having time with you. Thanks for being faithful to follow God’s call to make an impact on others.

My Response to Eric…
Eric,
I don’t even know how to respond to that. A part of me wants to say something like “I’m all you have, Eric? Really? That is so tragic! You need to get out more, man!” Or I’m tempted to respond, “15 years ago? Eric…dude… I was an idiot 15 years ago! Erase every memory of me from your mind. I had a mullet for God sake! Who listens to a guy with a mullet? Never listen to a guy with a mullet!”
But, instead of all that, I will simply say “Thank You.” It humbles me to hear that God used me in your life. And it excites me to know that the message I wanted to send actually caught hold. I can’t think of very many things I would want to communicate beyond
(1) The Gospel of Jesus is beautiful
(2) The Gospel should produce joy and laughter and
(3) The best way to love your children is to love your wife.
I miss you too, E. You are a great brother. May God continue to bless you with everything that He calls good.
T

I am so grateful that God reminds us. Thank you, Eric. Thanks for reminding me to consider the beauty of Christ, to laugh with Jesus, and to love my wife.

And thank you, Jesus. It is a testament to your grace that you can use a bone-head with a mullet to proclaim the life-giving beauty of the Gospel…even if that bone-head does live in a van down by the river.

Favorite Lewis Quote #8 – The Land of Safe

“Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” – The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Once upon a time…far, far away, there existed a kingdom without a King, where everyone was safe. In this Land of Safe, no one ever grew sick or ill. And no one ever died. The people were never hungry, never desperate, never thirsty, never sad. In this Land of Safe, always beautiful, never ugly; always full, never empty, the lonely people lived – Safe from the pain of war; Safe from the pain of anger; Safe from the pain of loss…Safe from the pain of love.

For in its essence, the idolatry of safety is nothing more than the desire to be free from the suffering of love. And so this land – safe, secure, happy, and comfortable – was a land without the dangers of compassion. The people all understood that hiding was the only way to be truly safe and so safety stayed in fashion. They were kind but never close. They were nice but never near. During the day they encased themselves in cubicles. At night they locked their doors and hid inside their fear. When they traveled, they sealed themselves inside moving metal boxes. They talked to one another, but only through machines. They worked safe jobs. Washed in safe bathrooms. Kept their money in safe banks. They Hid inside safe houses, that were built inside safe walls, surrounded by safe fences, and locked inside safe gates. Marriage? Far too dangerous; Babies? Much too perilous; Families? Way too hazardous…inside the Land of Safe.

So in this way the people lived – comfortable, happy, lonely, sad, unloving and afraid – until they eventually faded away into the nothing. Yes, this is how they lived, In the Land of Safe, Once upon a time, In this kingdom without a King.

One day this Land of Safe was interrupted by a Voice of Love who claimed to be a King. A Prophet King who was not safe, who sang throughout the town, dancing in the streets at night, who said he’d bring the heavens down. He told stories around the tables of dangerous rowdy friends. He claimed safety was an illusion and security was just a dream. He washed himself in rivers cold and drank deep from every stream, and walking everywhere he went, he cheered the hearts of children, romanced the hearts of women, and roused the hearts of men. He laughed at lightning, chased the thunder, and lept upon the waves – this Prophet King, this voice of Love, even called into the graves. Safety was a foolish hope, he said, that created loveless slaves. And so this King claimed this kingdom and declared it as is own, and said it was no longer safe to call His kingdom home. Yet, call it home He did, and even more; He called the Land, “Safe-No-More”, and said this land was created for…

Love and Love alone.

In that day this Prophet King declared war on every gate that kept love from getting in and gave his life as ransom then to free all hearts from safety’s grip of hatred, greed, and fear.  He made the the mute to sing with Him at the tables of dangerous friends; to cheer the hearts of children and rouse the hearts of men; to romance all women to unlock their hearts to believe in things above and to proclaim throughout the Land that nothing is safe from Love.

And so in the Land of Safe-No-More, the children would ask,”Is our King safe?” Then they heard their parents sing. “Of course He is not Safe my child. But He’s good. He is our King.”

Favorite Lewis Quote #9 – A Special Standard

“How difficult it is to avoid having a special standard for oneself.” – C.S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady, p. 58

I tend to view myself as a ’specialme’. When I’m standing in line at the grocery store, with 20 people in front of me, somehow I feel like I am the one person who is so special, that I should be allowed to go to the front of the line. When I do something wrong – like losing my temper or gossiping or building myself up while tearing someone else down, or when I kill someone and bury them in my backyard – I feel like I’m justified because I am a ’specialme’. Now, if someone else kills a person and buries them in their back yard…well, that’s just wrong. No question about it. But me? Hey, I have my reasons, doggone it. If I want to kill people – if I want to be a cannibal – then it is my right. Me and Hannibal Lecter are in a different category. Don’t hate us just because we like to eat people.

I tend to believe that I am not the only one who suffers from the disease of ’specialme-itis’. In fact, it seems to be something that has greatly infected most of Christianity. We Christians tend to believe that we are all a ’specialme’. We believe that our identity as God’s Chosen people gives us special rights and privileges. God loves us. Therefore, nothing bad should happen to us. We are God’s children! We deserve to be first in line. We deserve to be healthy. We deserve to be rich. We have the right to kill people and bury them in the back yard. Cannibalism is just fine for those love God and are called according to His purpose.

You see, the trouble is, we take some very good, solid, theological truth and we go absolutely the wrong way with it. Let me explain. The Bible does say that we Christians are a chosen people. God does predestine us to be the elect. We are made holy by Christ. The Spirit of God is placed within us. We are Set apart. Adopted. Blessed. Loved. If you will, God, through Christ Jesus, has called us special. This is true. But this is not the end of the story. Not by a long shot. The Gospel also tells us that we are evil. Diseased. The Bible makes it clear that God makes us special because He chooses us. He does not choose us because we are special. God takes messed up people – people who are selfish and angry and poor and desperate and murderous and cannibalistic – and He calls them His own. He saves them from themselves and He puts a new heart within them and teaches them to worship God and to love people.

But we go the wrong way. In our evil, we think that God has chosen us because we are Special. We think that God loves us because we are so pretty and so sweet and so holy and so good. And everybody else? Well, all those damned other people – they are just getting in the way. We are the specialme’s. Not them. Everyone else should bow the knee to us. They should Serve us and Listen to us and Recognize our Specialness. And so we create a special standard for ourselves. This special standard tell us that it is OK for us to mistreat the infidels. We are special. It’s no big deal to hate a godless evolutionist. In fact, God wants it that way. We are the special people. An army of Specialme’s. We have been chosen to do God’s work. So come along, Christian. Join me. Let’s join together to do God’s work on the earth. Let’s curse out an atheist for Jesus. Let’s shout down a liberal in the name of the Lord. Let’s blow up an abortion clinic. Let’s kill some Muslims and bury them in the back yard. Let’s cook some homosexuals and serve them hot with a side of beans and slaw. We are allowed. We are the Specialme. We live by a special standard.

No.

No. No. No. No. No.

Again, we go the wrong way. Yes.  We are special. We are set apart. But to do what? The Gospel tells us. Read it.  Aren’t we are called to be last? To be poor in spirit?  Doesn’t Christ call us to lay our lives down? Of course He does.  The Gospel set us back straight on this.  Jesus calls us to take up our cross. To love each other. To love our enemies. To worship God. We are called to admit our own idolatry before we ever point out the idolatry of others. We, above all, should be the first to admit our sin and to deal with the plank in our eye.

Jesus does not choose us and call us special so that we might claim God’s favor as a right that gives us permission to become even more idolatrous. Jesus chooses us to become a fellowship of ‘Little Christs’ – a people chosen to serve and not to be served. A people chosen to share in the sufferings of Christ Jesus. If this is true, then we have no right to claim a special standard for ourselves. We are not a ’specialme’. But rather, we serve a Special God…a Messiah who ‘did not regard equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness; and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!’

If we are special (and we are) then it is the special-ness of Jesus that makes us so. It is Jesus who gives us the special privilege and ability to ‘do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility to consider others better than ourselves.’ If I have a special standard, this is what it should look like.

So, the next time I think about killing someone and burying them in the backyard, I’m going to try to remember these things. I’m going to try to remember that I am not a specialme. I don’t care what Hannibal Lecter says. Cannibalism is just wrong.

Scripture Ref. Philippians 2:1-8

Who is Hannibal Lecter?

Greatest NFL Players – Jersey #’s: 76-99

Ok. Here it is. The final edition of the 100 Greatest NFL Jersey’s Numbers. This is my picks for numbers 76-100. There are bound to be a few controversial selections, so let’s get to it. By the way…out of this group, I am selecting number 80, Jerry Rice, as the best. I’m open to arguments against, but you’re going to find that number hard to argue against. I look forward to your comments. By the way, I have updated the 50-76 post. After we’ve hammered this out, I plan to post an overall 00-99 list.

76 Lou Groza – K – 60’s Cleveland
77 Red Grange – RB – 30’s Bears
78 Bruce Smith – DE – 90’s Bills
79 Roosevelt Brown – OT – 50’s Giants
80 Jerry Rice – WR – 80’s 49ers
81 Dick “Night Train” Lane – CB – 60’s Lions
82 Raymond Berry – WR – 60’s Colts
83 Ted Hendricks – OLB – 70’s Raiders
84 Shannon Sharpe – TE – 90’s Broncos
85 Nick Buoniconti – MLB – 70’s Steelers
86 Hines Ward – WR – 00’s Steelers
87 Willie Davis – DE – 60’s Packers
88 Alan Page – DT – 70’s Vikings (Thanks to Jimbo Booth) Replaces John Mackey
89 Mike Ditka – TE – 60’s Bears
90 Neil Smith – DE – 90’s Chiefs
91 Kevin Greene – DE – 90’s Steelers
92 Reggie White – DE – 90’s Packers
93 Dwight Freenly – DE – 00’s Colts
94 Charles Haley – DE – 90’s Cowboys
95 Richard Dent – DE – 80’s Bears
96 Cortez Kennedy – DT – 90’s Seahawks
97 Simeon Rice – DE – 00’s Buccaneers
98 Tony Siragusa – DT – 90’s Ravens
99 Warren Sapp – DT – 00’s Raiders

C.S. Lewis Song

In keeping with my series on my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes, I would like to share with you the “C.S. Lewis Song”, in which Brook Fraser sings a beautiful strain that is based upon some of Lewis’ words and thoughts.

To Read Lyrics click the link…

The Awesomeness of the Dark Knight

So, on Thursday night at 12 midnight, my family and I, along with about 20 other friends, went to go see “The Dark Knight”. It was so awesome that my head exploded, right there in the theater. I would give a review here but a video is worth a thousand words.

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Thanks to Bill Kinnon, “Achievable Ends”.

Favorite Lewis Quote #10 – Teachers

“Really great moral teachers never do introduce new moralities: it is quacks and cranks who do that… The real job of every moral teacher is to keep on bringing us back, time after time, to the old simple principles which we are all so anxious not to see.”

When you think about it, teaching truth really is a thankless job. The picture is much like the mother who stands over her child with a spoonful of cough syrup, urging her to open her mouth. This is because truth usually goes down hard. Yet, if the mother is good and true and loving, she will not back down from her call to care for her little one.

Truth is not sexy or fun or new or original. Truth is old. And even when we have not heard it before, when truth first comes to us as a new thought, or when it seems novel because it is novel to us, even then, we often find that truth has the ring of something old, something that has been taught a thousand times before, something that has risen from antiquity and dusted itself off before us. When we hear truth, we get the sense that we should know this already, or that we have known it and simply allowed ourselves to forget.

Batman Unmasked – Revisited

To celebrate the much anticipated opening of “The Dark Knight”, the sequel to Batman Begins, I am revisiting my very first post on Sacrosanct Gospel – “Batman Unmasked”. This article was first posted on March 12, 2008. I’m keeping the comments from the origninal post because I felt there were some pretty good responses. I would love to have you add a few more. Please understand in the article that I really am not ’slamming’ Batman. I am very sympathetic to my boyhood hero. I know him well. He is just like me. Well, not completely. He has considerably more money, he is better looking, and he is younger. Why is it that I age and he doesn’t?

I also want to make it widely known that my family and I already have our tickets to tonight’s midnight opening. We will be sitting with many other friends from our church, popcorn in hand, ready to be creeped out by the late Heath Ledger’s version of the Joker. Did I say Batman was my ‘boyhood’ hero? Oops I guess the Bat’s out of the Bag! Ha Ha hahahh haa (Insert Joker’s laugh here).

So without any further mildew, for your intellectual provocation, “Batman Unmasked”.

“Heaven is not my Home” – a book review

I would like to recommend an excellent book that I am presently reading called “Heaven is not my Home” by Paul Marshall. In his thought-provoking book, Marshall asserts that God is not seeking to destroy the earth, but to restore it to its original splendor. He shows us how the redemption of all things should shape the way we look at every aspect of our lives. He especially fleshes out some of the things I’ve talked about in regard to developing a healthy theology of play. (See “Christian Impact and Football” and “C.S. Lewis and a Theology of Christian Hope“). However, Marshall’s work goes much, much further. His fuller emphasis is focused on broader aspects of the Kingdom of God ‘yet to come’ and connecting those to the Kingdom of God that exists ‘right now’.

The Log and The Speck

.The Log and The Speck – Matthew 7:1-5

FYI – At one point during the sermon, I took a long 7ft. dowel rod and held it up to my eye. That’s what’s going on when you hear me interacting with people in the congregation.

Click “Read More” to see Power Point Slides

Greatest NFL Players – Jersey #’s: 51-75

We’ve had some great interaction on our Great NFL Jersey Numbers series. I’ve made corrections to the 1-50 posts. However, there is still much controversy surrounding the pick for Jersey #12. Should it be Tom Brady or Roger Staubach. Brady has the numbers, but Staubach missed four years because of obligations to the Navy. In fact, some are so passionate about Staubach being the pic that they have made the arguement that he should be the pick because he was a deeply religious man and that God would pick him on his team to play quarterback. Now, in my estimation that seems to be going a little far…everyone knows that God would pick Martin Luther to play quarterback.

So, continuing the series on the greatest NFL Players according to number, I am posting numbers 51-75. I think after we’ve finished this we should contact the Hall of Fame and let them know that we’ve worked this out for them. Remember that I’m posting a picture of the jersey that I feel is the best player out of the group – in this case, Lawrence Taylor. We should argue that as well – especially in this group of players.

(Corrections from comments in Red)

50 Mike Singletary – LB – 80’s Bears
51 Dick Butkus – LB – 60’s Bears
52 Ray Lewis – LB – 00’s Ravens
53 Harry Carson – LB – 80’s Giants
54 Randy White – DT – 70’s Cowboys
55 Derrick Brooks – OLB – 00’s Buccaneers
56 Lawrence Taylor – OLB – 80’s Giants
57 Dwight Stephenson – C – 80’s Dolphins (Thanks to Jimbo Booth) Replaces Tom Jackson
58 Jack Lambert – LB – 70’s Steelers
59 Jack Ham – OLB – 70’s Steelers
60 Chuck Bednarik – LB – 50’s Eagles
61 Curly Culp – DT – 70’s Chiefs
62 Jim Langer – C – 70’s Dolphins
63 Gene Upshaw – OG – 70’s Raiders
64 Jerry Kramer – OG – 60’s Packers
65 Elvin Bethea – DE – 70’s Oilers
66 Ray Nitchke – LB – 60’s Packers
67 Bob Kuechenberg – OT – 70’s Dolphins
68 Russ Grimm – OG – 80’s Redskins
69 Mark Schlereth – OG – 90’s Broncos
70 Sam Huff – LB – 60’s Giants
71 Alex Karras – DE – 70’s Lions
72 Dan Dierdorf – OG – 70’s Cardinals
73 John Hannah – OG – 70’s Patriots
74 Bob Lilly – DT – 60’s Cowboys
75 Mean Joe Greene – DT – 70’s Steelers (Thanks to Ron Milz and Jimbo Booth) Replaces Howie Long