God and Bare Naked Ladies: Oswald Chambers: October 12th

Just finished one of my morning readings - Oswald Chambers, October 12. Yeah so I am a little behind or a lot ahead - don't dwell on it - it doesn't matter.

This is one of those things that I read and am not sure it is true - but I WANT it to be true. It just seems impossible to me at the moment though.

The test of a man’s religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting on. The worth of a man is revealed in his attitude to ordinary things when he is not before the footlights (cf. John 1:36). It is a painful business to get through into the stride of God, it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride; but when we have got into it, the only characteristic that manifests itself is the life of God. The individual man is lost sight of in his personal union with God, and the stride and the power of God alone are manifested.

It is difficult to get into stride with God, because when we start walking with Him we find He has outstripped us before we have taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined into His ways. It was said of Jesus – "He shall not fail nor be discouraged," because He never worked from His own individual standpoint but always from the standpoint of His Father, and we have to learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned by atmosphere, not by intellectual reasoning. God’s Spirit alters the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and things begin to be possible which never were possible before. Getting into the stride of God means nothing less than union with Himself. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give in because the pain is bad just now, get on with it, and before long you will find you have a new vision and a new purpose.

And if I had a million dollars, I'd buy you a monkey:

And

http://youtu.be/LHacDYj8KZM

Quote of the Day

"If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did."

- Timothy Keller - The Prodigal God

Some Children See Him

http://youtu.be/XR5vupwpRJc

Quote of the Day

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” 

 – Galatians 3:28

Quote of the Day

“Both read the Bible day and night, But thou read’st black where I read white” - William Blake

Why I Hate Religion

The true church is the people - the body of Christ. Organizations who call themselves a "church" and collect and spend money are businesses that exist to support the real body of Christ.

 
http://youtu.be/1IAhDGYlpqY

Quote of the Day

God never stops doing good to his covenant people. And if an enemy is temporarily given the upper hand, we can say, straight into the muzzle of the gun, “You mean evil against me, but God means it for good” (Genesis 50:20). Since God is sovereign and has promised not to turn away from doing good to his covenant people, we can know beyond all doubt, in tribulation and distress and persecution and famine and nakedness and peril and sword, that we are more than conquerers through him who loved us (Romans 8:35-37).

 - John Piper, in The Pleasures of God

Thoughts on Forgiveness: Part 3: The Preemptive Kind

Part 1 here
Part 2 here

So we are created to give. We will never be fully human until we become givers. We give to our houses of worship, the poor, organizations that excite our calling, we volunteer our time, we involuntarily give of our time in both the "now" and the "not yet" which leads us to be givers of grace in a graceless world and this leads us to being sources of forgiveness. But there are many ways to define forgiveness. I like Frederick Beuchner's definition:

To forgive somebody is to say one way or another, 'You have done something unspeakable, and by all rights I should call it quits between us. Both my pride and my principles demand no less. However, although I make no guarantees that I will be able to forget what you've done, and though we both may carry the scars for life, I refuse to let it stand between us. I still want you for my friend.'


To accept forgiveness means to admit that you've done something unspeakable that needs to be forgiven, and thus both parties must swallow the same thing: their pride.


This seems to explain what Jesus means when he says to God, 'Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.' Jesus is NOT saying that God's forgiveness is conditional upon our forgiving others. In the first place, forgiveness that's conditional isn't really forgiveness at all, just Fair Warning; and in the second place, our unforgivingness is among those things about us which we need to have God forgive us the most. What Jesus is apparently saying is that the pride which keeps us from forgiving is the same pride which keeps us from accepting forgiveness, and will God please help us do something about it.


When someone you've wronged forgives you, you're spared the dull self-diminishing throb of a guilty conscience.


When you forgive somebody who has wronged you, you're spared the dismal corrosion of bitterness and wounded pride.


For both parties, forgiveness means the freedom again to be at peace inside their own skins and to be glad in each other's presence.


HERE'S THE KICKER: YOU CAN FORGIVE PREEMPTIVELY


After all, Christ died for your forgiveness 2000 years ago. You were forgiven before you existed (again repentance / accepting forgiveness is another matter). There is no reason we cannot forgive others in advance of their sinning against us.

Let me clue you in on something: Between now and the end of the year someone is going to hurt you. But you don't have to wait to be hurt to forgive. In fact, preemptive forgiveness is like the ounce of prevention that is better than a pound of cure. Preemptive forgiveness is easier and it lessons the eventual pain that is coming.

Here is what it looks like: As I head into a situation involving others, I pray, "For what you are about to do or say to me, I forgive you."

"I forgive you"

"I forgive you"

We are created to give. We are created to extend grace. We are created to forgive. When we don't give, we don't extend grace and we don't extend forgiveness, we lose an essential part of our humanity.

So give yourself the gift of further wholeness this Christmas - forgive. Now. Before someone harms you. Before it's too late.

As I am learning, this lesson of preemptive forgiveness is crucial in the disabled community.

One last thought to come . . . .

Thoughts on Forgiveness: Part 2

Background post here.

So we MUST give of our time, our talents and our treasure. We MUST give to our house of worship. We MUST give to the poor we meet in the day-to-day, we MUST give according to our calling and we MUST become agents of patience and grace in an increasingly impatient and graceless world. We MUST do this not because others have a need, but because WE have a need. We don't breathe air because air needs to be breathed - we breathe because to not breathe means death. Similarly, we give because we are built to give - we become more fully human when we give. And that led us to the discussion of forgiveness . . .

We are called to extend forgiveness - every day - all the time.

The traditional dogmatic view of forgiveness is this:

1) You do something you shouldn't and so the relationship is broken
2) You must go to God and ask for forgiveness
3) Once you have asked for forgiveness, God will extend it. Otherwise, you stay in a state of unforgiveness

This is lousy theology.

"He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" - 2 Peter 3:9b

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8

"Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing" - Luke 23:34

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me" - Revelations 3:20

In the biblical story, man does not "go" to God. God creates man. God COMES to Abraham. God COMES to Moses, and so on. Jesus CAME to us. God does not want ANYONE to perish - so much so that he died for us BEFORE we ever repented. Jesus on the cross begged for forgiveness for a people who did not even know they were sinning and so were incapable of repentance. We do not go to heaven and bang on the gates, rather God comes to OUR door and begs to be let in.

Everyone is forgiven. Everyone. Already. You are forgiven. That person who wronged you? Already forgiven. That person in the news headlines? ALREADY forgiven. EVERYONE IS ALREADY FORGIVEN. Repentance has nothing to do with being forgiven. Now receiving forgiveness, that is another matter.

God's forgiveness is radiating throughout creation, all the time and to everyone - like a radio station. But if you want to receive the signal of forgiveness, you have to tune it in. Repentance does that. That's the topic for another post.

We are talking about our NEED to give the way the creator gives - because we are made in his image. To be fully human, we NEED to give of our time, talents and treasure. We MUST be fountains of patience and grace for that is how we are knit together.

IF all this is true, then we MUST be constant fountains of forgiveness, for that is how we are made. You cannot become fully human until you GIVE - talent, treasure, time, patience, grace and FORGIVENESS.

But here is the kicker - just like our creator - we are called to forgive even when others do not repent. We MUST give forgiveness to those who are not sorry for what they have done . . . . (Father forgive them for they know not what they do)

And then the discussion got fun . . . .

To be continued . . .

Thoughts on Forgiveness: Part 1: The Background

I have been having some new thoughts on forgiveness. I am coming from a Christian context but I think the topic is universal regardless of your faith or lack thereof so I thought I would put it out there.

First of all, I should explain how I got to this point (this isn't necessary to know but possibly helpful to fully understand where I am coming from).

I help to facilitate an adult discussion group at my church and for the past few months, we have been discussing the topic of giving. The way it works is I, and the person I facilitate with, frame a topic, the group starts to run with it and we see where it leads. So on the topic of giving, we started with the simplest, most mundane type of giving and tried to move the topic towards more complex and spiritual forms over the months that we discussed.

Here are the bullet points:

1) We need to give. We are created to be givers. When we don't give, we lose a part of our humanity. Giving is part of our spiritual DNA. We must give - not because others need our help but because WE NEED to give to become fully human.

2) We should all be giving something to our house of worship and be trying to figure out a way to give more

3) We should all be prepared to give to the poor whom we encounter on the street in our day-to-day lives and be trying to figure out a way to give more (for me, this takes the shape of having a gift card to a grocery store or McD's in my wallet that I can hand out as well as trying to take the time to acknowledge the person's humanity, spend time, treat them as the equal that they are)

4) We should be giving to the poor through organizations as well as following our calling to give through organizations (secular and sacred) that energize us (past blog post here) and trying to figure out how to give more

5) We should give of our time

A) Voluntarily (house of worship, the poor, organization of your choice etc)

B) Involuntarily in the now (these are the constant interruptions, the unplanned demands of others, the person that takes your turn in traffic, the person in the checkout lane with 47 coupons)

C) Involuntarily in the not yet (people and situations who are not changing according to our timetable, the relative with an addiction, the friend in a corrosive relationship etc)

This involuntary giving of time in the now and the not yet led us to the discussion of Grace. We are called to be fountains of grace in a fallen world. To constantly extend grace - constantly spread grace. A good but incomplete synonym for grace is "patience". So much of our impatience comes from defending the "rights" of our egos. "How DARE you merge in front of ME!!!" etc.

We are called to lay aside our egos - to extend patience, to extend grace, constantly, all the time - not because the world needs it but because WE need to extend it. We are created to give grace. We are made in the image of our creator and the farther away from that image, the more of our true humanity we lose. Our creator is a giver of grace and so must we be - not because we "should" but because we "must". Our giving of grace to those around us brings us life. Giving grace to others resurrects us.

So we are built to be givers: of our treasure, of our time (voluntary and involuntary) and of grace. We regain our humanity when we do this.

That led us to the discussion of forgiveness . . .

To be continued . . .

Fruit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

- Galatians 5:22-23a

Wrong Worship

Great googly moogly this is funny



http://youtu.be/ZJp98hoqy5I

Quote of the Day

For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved.

Matthew 25:42-43(RESV-Richard E. Stearns Version)
The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? The answer that changed my life and just might change the world.

Soul Food

“Crucify him!” they shouted.

“Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

- Mark 15:13-14

Soul Food

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

- John 13:34-35

Soul Food

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

- Matthew 25:31-40

Soul Food

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

- Mark 12:28-31

Soul Food

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

- John 12:42-43

Soul Food

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

- Matthew 21:1-11

Soul Food

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked.

"Come and see, Lord," they replied.

Jesus wept.

- John 11:32-35