The devil is a master of deflecting attention from himself and getting us to do his dirty work.
We live in a world that is reeling from psychic pain, a pain so systemic that it invades every area of our existence. You can see the emptiness in people’s eyes, you can hear the anger in their voices, and you can feel the frustration radiating from their bodies. You may even have been on the receiving end of physical, emotional or verbal violence. It may even have happened to you in church.
You see, the devil comes to church every time we in the church, war and fight with each other. That word said in anger, that critical attitude, that unforgiving spirit, gossip and slander, an accusation with out investigation; every time we fail to simply be kind or demonstrate compassion, give someone the benefit of the doubt we are doing the devils work on his behalf.
The bible is clear about the personification of evil as represented by the devil. It is his job to scheme against all that is good (Ephesians 6:10), to try and turn every good thing into pain. It is also his life’s mission to “go about like a roaring lion seeking whom he might destroy”. His work is to create a counterfeit to all that is God’s, including counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders (2Thessalonians 2:9).
It is time for the church to stop doing the devils work for him.
The church must become a place of safety, emotionally, spiritually and physically.
The church must become a place where forgiveness flows like a mighty river, where love pours down upon those who fail and restores them to new beginnings.
The church must become a place where words of compassion and understanding rise up against judgmental attitudes and where the redeemed people of God seek to understand rather than be understood.
The church must become a place where people can discover truth, uncompromised, but swimming in an attitude love, birthed out of the depth of understanding of who we are and what God himself in Christ Jesus has rescued us from.
The church must become a place where we cut people some slack, but not leave them to rot in their own messes.
The church truly must become a bride, a glorious church, with out stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, holy and blameless. (Ephessians 5:27)
The church can only become a safe place, as you and I allow Christ to transform out attitudes and behaviours into attitudes and behaviours that reflect his character and his nature.
We can accept the wounded and broken and remind ourselves that we too are wounded and broken and if it were not for Jesus, we would not be here.
We can simply refuse to be offended, we can maintain an attitude of instant forgiveness, by not allowing any judgmental word to stick to us or come from us.
We can start by refusing to let our mouths say anything that is not helpful and constructive, whether that is in the form of the spoken word, the written word, or a thought word.
An old spiritual song says “Shut de door, keep out de devil”.
Maybe “de shut door” begins with “de shut mouth!”
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
"HOUSTON" WE HAVE A PROBLEM!
We have a problem! Current statistics by the Barna Group demonstrate that the moral behaviours of church goes and the behaviours of non-church goers are statistically the same. In other words, no discernible difference can be found in the actions and attitudes of the two groups of people. In two areas the results are quite frightening. In the area of marriage and divorce it seems evangelical (bible believing Christians) church attendees have a slightly higher divorce rate that the rest of the population. In the viewing and usage of pornography both groups scored the same. In the practice of pre-marital sex there was no discernible difference in the scores.
Am I the only one who thinks that there is a real issue here? What are the long term effects of these behaviours on the Church, the Body of Christ? One of the questions we could ask is what will happen to the church when those inside are no different from those outside? What is our future when the body of Christ has been so assimilated into the behaviours of the current culture that no discernible differences can be seen in believers and non-believers? Have we been so blind sided and absorbed into the current culture that it has effectively smothered our light, put it under a bushel, and invited the darkness to reign…all with our permission. Has the doctrine of tolerance so taken over the church that we can no longer speak about what is pure, holy, moral or just? Or is it that our own behaviour is so corrupt we have lost the moral authority to speak out against the very corruption that threatens to destroy the society in which we live.
This type of worldly assimilation of the people of God into the culture in which they live is certainly nothing new. The children of Israel, Gods chosen people seemed to always be in a position of perpetual compromise with the cultures around them. Somebody else had a king so they wanted a king. The Egyptian women were hotter than their women so they defied Gods law and married into the foreign nation. Other people had gods they could see, so they made a golden calf to worship. Soon as Moses back was turned the party began. In the New Testament Paul was constantly on the Corinthians, Ephesians, the Romans and others about their sexual exploits that were outside the boundaries of Gods intended sexual behaviours.
And so we have this same pattern repeated again in modern culture and the modern church. Ok, I guess than means God gets to repeat the same corrective measures he took before to redeem and purify his people form worldly assimilation. Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed by something akin to a nuclear blast; Israel, into captivity by a foreign power and slaves to a foreign government for a ‘few’ years; Agricultural devastation and a ruined economy due to famine, pestilence, giant grasshoppers…Israel again…they were very slow learners; Annanias and Saphira dead at the apostle’s feet for lying before God to the early Church. Well you get the idea.
God will always call his people to come out of the world. He will do it first by love and then when all else fails, he will do it by holy discipline. But he will do it! I’ll take the love part of that equation any day! Any body up for a round of obedience to The Book!
Am I the only one who thinks that there is a real issue here? What are the long term effects of these behaviours on the Church, the Body of Christ? One of the questions we could ask is what will happen to the church when those inside are no different from those outside? What is our future when the body of Christ has been so assimilated into the behaviours of the current culture that no discernible differences can be seen in believers and non-believers? Have we been so blind sided and absorbed into the current culture that it has effectively smothered our light, put it under a bushel, and invited the darkness to reign…all with our permission. Has the doctrine of tolerance so taken over the church that we can no longer speak about what is pure, holy, moral or just? Or is it that our own behaviour is so corrupt we have lost the moral authority to speak out against the very corruption that threatens to destroy the society in which we live.
This type of worldly assimilation of the people of God into the culture in which they live is certainly nothing new. The children of Israel, Gods chosen people seemed to always be in a position of perpetual compromise with the cultures around them. Somebody else had a king so they wanted a king. The Egyptian women were hotter than their women so they defied Gods law and married into the foreign nation. Other people had gods they could see, so they made a golden calf to worship. Soon as Moses back was turned the party began. In the New Testament Paul was constantly on the Corinthians, Ephesians, the Romans and others about their sexual exploits that were outside the boundaries of Gods intended sexual behaviours.
And so we have this same pattern repeated again in modern culture and the modern church. Ok, I guess than means God gets to repeat the same corrective measures he took before to redeem and purify his people form worldly assimilation. Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed by something akin to a nuclear blast; Israel, into captivity by a foreign power and slaves to a foreign government for a ‘few’ years; Agricultural devastation and a ruined economy due to famine, pestilence, giant grasshoppers…Israel again…they were very slow learners; Annanias and Saphira dead at the apostle’s feet for lying before God to the early Church. Well you get the idea.
God will always call his people to come out of the world. He will do it first by love and then when all else fails, he will do it by holy discipline. But he will do it! I’ll take the love part of that equation any day! Any body up for a round of obedience to The Book!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
THE MISSING INGREDIENT FOR SUCCESS
I think there is a missing ingredient in most of our lives that keeps us from really fulfilling the purposes of God for us and for His church in this world. I have read material on determination, writing down goals, perseverance, positive thinking, possibility thinking, alignment, being one with the source…you name it, I have probably read it and maybe even tried it.
But there is one concept I have not heard or even read much about in the whole ‘success /achievement’ movement.
That missing ingredient in most of our lives is embodied in the word sacrifice.
“Now wait a minute” you say “I was taught that it was more blessed to give than to receive”. You are correct. But it is possible to give and not sacrifice. Most giving is just a redistribution of time, talent, energy or wealth given out of a pool of excess. Most of the giving that is the cornerstone of the self improvement movement has little if anything to do with sacrifice.
We in the Twenty First century know little of a life of sacrifice. The word sacrifice has almost been banned from our vocabulary.
To sacrifice means to give until it hurts.
Ask a family whose loved one has been lost in military service to our country. They can tell you about sacrifice.
Ask a seasoned aged wealthy entrepreneur about building their company from the back of a pick up truck in the 1950s. They can tell you about 80+ hour work weeks, Kraft Dinner, risking life, limb and home, to stake their claim and build their business.
Talk to missionaries who, compelled by the Love of Jesus Christ, abandoned all wealth and the privilege of urban life to go and invest their lives in the lives of the worlds destitute and abandoned.
Talk to a church that is impacting their community for the cause of Christ.
Their common theme will always be, sacrifice.
Reflect, if you will, on the fact that most privately owned companies in Canada do not survive to stay in business by the third generation. That mission organization recruitment is down, that military recruitment is down, that volunteerism is down, that we have it too easy that our kids have it even easier, that the idea of a life of sacrifice has gone the way of AM Radio, that people are lost, have no purpose, lives devoid of meaning and, to quote a very old song, “if that’s all there is then let’s keep dancing” seems to be the mantra of the day. Well maybe not dancing…but certainly leave me alone to do my own thing. Or at least, don’t bother me; don’t touch my wealth or my weekend.
Sacrifice, the abandoned word in the Brave New World. I am sure glad Jesus Christ didn’t back down from His sacrifice for the world or we would all be going to hell. Maybe we are already there and we just don’t know it, or we just don’t want to recognize it or we just want to keep playing our video games while “Rome” burns.
What ever you want in life that is worth anything will cost you something…it’s called a sacrifice. Do not let anybody tell you anything different. No pain, no gain, whether in your physical life, your emotional live or your spiritual life. Get it?
But there is one concept I have not heard or even read much about in the whole ‘success /achievement’ movement.
That missing ingredient in most of our lives is embodied in the word sacrifice.
“Now wait a minute” you say “I was taught that it was more blessed to give than to receive”. You are correct. But it is possible to give and not sacrifice. Most giving is just a redistribution of time, talent, energy or wealth given out of a pool of excess. Most of the giving that is the cornerstone of the self improvement movement has little if anything to do with sacrifice.
We in the Twenty First century know little of a life of sacrifice. The word sacrifice has almost been banned from our vocabulary.
To sacrifice means to give until it hurts.
Ask a family whose loved one has been lost in military service to our country. They can tell you about sacrifice.
Ask a seasoned aged wealthy entrepreneur about building their company from the back of a pick up truck in the 1950s. They can tell you about 80+ hour work weeks, Kraft Dinner, risking life, limb and home, to stake their claim and build their business.
Talk to missionaries who, compelled by the Love of Jesus Christ, abandoned all wealth and the privilege of urban life to go and invest their lives in the lives of the worlds destitute and abandoned.
Talk to a church that is impacting their community for the cause of Christ.
Their common theme will always be, sacrifice.
Reflect, if you will, on the fact that most privately owned companies in Canada do not survive to stay in business by the third generation. That mission organization recruitment is down, that military recruitment is down, that volunteerism is down, that we have it too easy that our kids have it even easier, that the idea of a life of sacrifice has gone the way of AM Radio, that people are lost, have no purpose, lives devoid of meaning and, to quote a very old song, “if that’s all there is then let’s keep dancing” seems to be the mantra of the day. Well maybe not dancing…but certainly leave me alone to do my own thing. Or at least, don’t bother me; don’t touch my wealth or my weekend.
Sacrifice, the abandoned word in the Brave New World. I am sure glad Jesus Christ didn’t back down from His sacrifice for the world or we would all be going to hell. Maybe we are already there and we just don’t know it, or we just don’t want to recognize it or we just want to keep playing our video games while “Rome” burns.
What ever you want in life that is worth anything will cost you something…it’s called a sacrifice. Do not let anybody tell you anything different. No pain, no gain, whether in your physical life, your emotional live or your spiritual life. Get it?
GET REAL, GET RELEVANT OR GO HOME
The Church in North America is almost an embarrassment to the cause of Jesus Christ. Believers bicker amongst each other. Denominations fight over doctrinal issues. Christians change churches like they change their T shirts. They fight about worship styles, music choices, which translation of the bible is the only Authorized Version. The church is lame and lifeless and it is so because we let it be so.
No wonder know body cares to show up on Sunday. So many churches are out of date, out of touch and hell bent on preserving rituals and forms which long have outlasted their uselessness.
Power hungry leaders and power hungry parishioners fight to gain control. Submission is absent, humility dead, personal sacrifice non existent and personal preference is king. To the out side word we can be seen as nothing more than a poorly run Rotary club that reads bible verses and spends a lot of time bickering.
When will we have the courage to really get it together as the Church the Body of Christ? When will we see that a lost and dying world doesn’t give a darn about our doctrinal differences, our cute pageants, our dead formalism and never ending power struggles and war over worship styles?
We live in a lost and dying world that doesn’t even know it’s lost and dying.
Some people may have tweaked to the fact, that we as a word have a problem. With greed and financial corruption plaguing our monetary system, with divorce and adultery at an all time high, with children being exploited, with women being oppressed, with environmental pollution causing more and more cancer, with large Pharmaceutical companies driving the health care agenda, the increase in child poverty, pedophilia, pornography, prostitution and the ever changing price of gas, you would have to be so ego- centric, self absorbed and down right blind not to know there is a problem.
It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to come to the God of heaven and ask for forgiveness. It is time for the people of God to open their eyes to the death and decay that surrounds their neighborhood. It is time for the church to stand up and RISK engaging a dying world regardless of the personal cost, to risk being relevant, to pay the price to be light and salt, to risk time, creativity, money, reputation, to pick up the cross daily and follow our leader into uncertainty, darkness and the evil places of this world.
After all it cost Jesus Christ His life to give birth to The Church, perhaps it’s time we gave our very lives to save that same church from self seeking believers who have hi-jacked the church for years for their own agenda. It’s time to get real, get relevant or go home!
Jesus said “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not stand up against it”. Any body interested in “RAZING” a little hell?
No wonder know body cares to show up on Sunday. So many churches are out of date, out of touch and hell bent on preserving rituals and forms which long have outlasted their uselessness.
Power hungry leaders and power hungry parishioners fight to gain control. Submission is absent, humility dead, personal sacrifice non existent and personal preference is king. To the out side word we can be seen as nothing more than a poorly run Rotary club that reads bible verses and spends a lot of time bickering.
When will we have the courage to really get it together as the Church the Body of Christ? When will we see that a lost and dying world doesn’t give a darn about our doctrinal differences, our cute pageants, our dead formalism and never ending power struggles and war over worship styles?
We live in a lost and dying world that doesn’t even know it’s lost and dying.
Some people may have tweaked to the fact, that we as a word have a problem. With greed and financial corruption plaguing our monetary system, with divorce and adultery at an all time high, with children being exploited, with women being oppressed, with environmental pollution causing more and more cancer, with large Pharmaceutical companies driving the health care agenda, the increase in child poverty, pedophilia, pornography, prostitution and the ever changing price of gas, you would have to be so ego- centric, self absorbed and down right blind not to know there is a problem.
It is time for the church of Jesus Christ to come to the God of heaven and ask for forgiveness. It is time for the people of God to open their eyes to the death and decay that surrounds their neighborhood. It is time for the church to stand up and RISK engaging a dying world regardless of the personal cost, to risk being relevant, to pay the price to be light and salt, to risk time, creativity, money, reputation, to pick up the cross daily and follow our leader into uncertainty, darkness and the evil places of this world.
After all it cost Jesus Christ His life to give birth to The Church, perhaps it’s time we gave our very lives to save that same church from self seeking believers who have hi-jacked the church for years for their own agenda. It’s time to get real, get relevant or go home!
Jesus said “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not stand up against it”. Any body interested in “RAZING” a little hell?
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