I was thinking about Lazarus this morning. I wonder how grateful he was to Jesus for raising him from the dead. We know he was around Jesus after that.
John 12:2 So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
I wonder how sacrificially he gave his all to Jesus after Jesus raised him from the dead. I wonder how many people were drawn to Jesus through the testimony and witness of Lazarus' new life.
John 12:9-11 When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was
there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus,
whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put
Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews
were going away and believing in Jesus.
I wonder if there is anything Lazarus would have held back from Jesus after that, or considered too great a price to pay to love and follow Jesus.
Then I thought about:
Colossians 2:13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the
uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having
forgiven us all our trespasses,
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I
who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the
flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself
for me.
Romans 6:13b . . . but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
I was dead in my sin. Cut off from God, Who is Himself life. And He raised me from the dead. And so I wonder . . . I wonder how grateful I am to Jesus for raising me from the dead. I wonder how sacrificially I give my all to Jesus after Jesus raised me from the dead. I wonder how many people are drawn to Jesus through
the testimony and witness of my new life. I wonder if there is anything I would have held back from Jesus
after that, or consider too great a price to pay to love and follow
Jesus.
What is the proper response when someone has raised you from the dead?
Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Follow the Clues . . .
The other day Mary Ann and I dropped our girls off at camp. On the way home we stopped at a roadside cut that we know has had some fossilized shells impressions in the past. I'd been really looking forward to it, as I haven't been fossil hunting in awhile. The spot is miles from the ocean, and in mountains high above it, and it is to me a wonderful place to collect evidence of the flood of Noah.Proverbs 25:2 — It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.
Arriving at the spot, we looked at where we usually find fossils and found some good, small ones. I then decided to look for some new veins of fossils in the bent shale layers. After some searching along the road I found a couple small impressions in the sluff pile below the large cliff. We started to scale the slide area, looking for clues to where the vein of fossils might be in the wall, and soon started to see some other impressions, still in the matrix of the wall. Out come the rock chisels and hammers . . . and soon we were rewarded with a beauty! I have include the rest of the series of pictures below so you can share in the fun of the hunt! (Clicking on each picture will give you an enlarged view of it where you can really see the fossils!)
In following those clues and finding the "treasure" I am reminded of the coming of Christ, by Whose death and our faith we are united back to God, with God Himself dwelling in us. This mystery of the ages, set in place from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) was a plan God had in place for the fullness of time, when Christ would come. But it was not a plan without clues, as the entire Old Testament points to this moment and foreshadows it. In fact, Christ is the best lens I have found to interpret the Old Testament through.
God has left His "clues" all around us. Evidence of His hand. Examples of His love and power. Testimonies of His love. It is but for us to step in and explore them. He invites us to "taste and see that He is good" (Psalm 34:8). The evidence for His existence, the evidence for the truth of Genesis (hence of the Bible), the evidence of His involvement in our lives . . . it surrounds us! In fact, regarding the evidence of His existence that is found in Creation alone—He says in Romans 1 that it is so evident that man is without excuse to deny Him!
I love God's "clues"! I love the nudges of the Holy Spirit, the glimpse of His hand, the breath of His leading. I love to follow the "clues" and take the trail and see where He leads. He is so good. May you enjoy the journey of following Him. I think He enjoys leaving us the clues, and having fun with us as well!
(Note: If you are on Facebook, and you enjoy being blessed through God's Creation, you might enjoy "liking" my daughters' and my page "Just a Closer Look" where we put macro parts of a picture from Creation that we've taken and people guess what it is. Even if you don't guess, it is a lot of fun and it encourages us to be still and know that He is God.)
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Do You Want to Be a Cowboy?
Last Saturday was, for me, one of my first really relaxing Saturdays in a long time. One of our elders was teaching for me on Sunday and I got to simply show up and be blessed. I didn't have the teaching laying over me on Saturday and I found myself able to relax, just be present in the moment, and not be too worried about the time, etc. I hadn't realized how much the Sunday teaching affects me on the days prior to it until then.
One of the things I'd really been looking forward to was cutting up some wood in the morning while the girls rode on our lower property, going to a friend's function, then curling up in the afternoon and reading a good Western. You know—cowboys, six guns, wide open plains, and of course horses and cows. It has been a love of mine since fourth grade.
I was anticipating the afternoon time reading, dozing, and simply being in another place and time for awhile. Then . . . when we got back from the function, we thought our cows and sheep had gotten out. We looked everywhere with binoculars across the 40 acres and couldn't find them. The girls went out on one of our horses combing the draws and hidden depressions and couldn't find them. They did find, however, a spot where the fence was low on the back side and some matted grass leading up to it.
And so . . . we could only imagine the cows got spooked earlier in the day when the girls were practicing moving them around from horseback, and that they probably went over the fence and up into the thick brush and hills on the others side of it, the sheep faithfully in tow. It was a daunting prospect to think of hiking those hills in the heat with flakes of alfalfa in our hands, watching for snakes, locating the roaming critters, trying to move them back to and through the fence, then having to repair the fence. I wanted to read my Western!
I was frustrated and disappointed, then I had thought pierce my self-pity like a spear thrown through it. It asked, "Do you want to read about cowboys, or be one?"
It was one of those moments of self-confronting. I had to ask, "Do you want to read about it, or be it?" and then, almost immediately, came the follow up question . . . "And what about your faith, do you want to read about it, or live it?"
I love to read about God. I love to curl up in my chair with a cup of good, strong coffee, and study Him. And so it was a strong reminder to me to be on guard against being more in love with the idea of something then the reality. It is not to say that Bible study, church, Men's Group, etc., are not important—they are tremendously important—but if I ever let the study of the Christian life replace living the Christian life I've missed what it is all about. If I ever let things about Jesus replace Jesus I've missed the mark it all aims at.
Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) It is Christ who lives in me, desiring to live through me. It is a life often tiring, inconvenient, and with, at times, great cost . . . but it is the real thing, what we are created for—a living relationship following Jesus, allowing Him to live in and through us, loving and serving.
May I never forget the question: "Do you want to read about cowboys, or be one?"
—
P.S. We found the cows and sheep, still on our property, in a clump of bushes along the fence line, hidden until you were about 20 feet away.
One of the things I'd really been looking forward to was cutting up some wood in the morning while the girls rode on our lower property, going to a friend's function, then curling up in the afternoon and reading a good Western. You know—cowboys, six guns, wide open plains, and of course horses and cows. It has been a love of mine since fourth grade.
I was anticipating the afternoon time reading, dozing, and simply being in another place and time for awhile. Then . . . when we got back from the function, we thought our cows and sheep had gotten out. We looked everywhere with binoculars across the 40 acres and couldn't find them. The girls went out on one of our horses combing the draws and hidden depressions and couldn't find them. They did find, however, a spot where the fence was low on the back side and some matted grass leading up to it.
 |
| Looking across our property (at a greener time of year) to the brush-covered hill we figured the cows and sheep had escaped to. |
And so . . . we could only imagine the cows got spooked earlier in the day when the girls were practicing moving them around from horseback, and that they probably went over the fence and up into the thick brush and hills on the others side of it, the sheep faithfully in tow. It was a daunting prospect to think of hiking those hills in the heat with flakes of alfalfa in our hands, watching for snakes, locating the roaming critters, trying to move them back to and through the fence, then having to repair the fence. I wanted to read my Western!
 |
| The girls on Baylie, our retired cutting horse they used to move the cows around. |
It was one of those moments of self-confronting. I had to ask, "Do you want to read about it, or be it?" and then, almost immediately, came the follow up question . . . "And what about your faith, do you want to read about it, or live it?"
I love to read about God. I love to curl up in my chair with a cup of good, strong coffee, and study Him. And so it was a strong reminder to me to be on guard against being more in love with the idea of something then the reality. It is not to say that Bible study, church, Men's Group, etc., are not important—they are tremendously important—but if I ever let the study of the Christian life replace living the Christian life I've missed what it is all about. If I ever let things about Jesus replace Jesus I've missed the mark it all aims at.
Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20) It is Christ who lives in me, desiring to live through me. It is a life often tiring, inconvenient, and with, at times, great cost . . . but it is the real thing, what we are created for—a living relationship following Jesus, allowing Him to live in and through us, loving and serving.
May I never forget the question: "Do you want to read about cowboys, or be one?"
—
P.S. We found the cows and sheep, still on our property, in a clump of bushes along the fence line, hidden until you were about 20 feet away.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Never Forget . . .
I had the honor and privilege recently of having a long, tear-filled conversation with someone who has struggled with same-sex attraction. They have literally taken a bullet, and watched a friend die by the bullet, of someone who simply hated gays. They shared how, without a legal commitment of relationship, the family of someone they loved (and had loved for decades) could cut them off from even seeing that person in the hospital if that person was unconscious. They shared how they couldn't find the depth of love in someone of the opposite sex they found in someone of the same. They shared their deep longing to love and be loved and to not grow old alone.
We talked. We listened to one another. We honored one another with listening and trying to hear one another's hearts. It was an amazing experience.
I still believe the Bible is clear about God's stand on homosexuality. I still believe that we, as Christians, can't legitimatize by law something we believe God says is sin. But it was a powerful reminder to me—one I hope I never forget—that this whole battle (or any battle, for that matter, be it abortion, etc.) is not about "them." The "them" are (granted there are extremists on both sides who make a genuine discussion hard), but the "them" are people with feelings, people who love, people who often want to please God, people who are hurt. They are real people and if we ever forget that, and walk not in love (which doesn't mean compromise), then no matter how correct our theology is, we will not be representing God.
I talked extensively about this with our fellowship yesterday, and I felt God bring two questions to my mind. They are questions the church must grapple with if we want God to wash this nation with His Holy Spirit (and I believe that is the only answer for us, that the individuals in this nation choose to love and obey Him above all else). Those two questions were:
1. I, who am so passionate and patriotic about America, am I even more passionate and "patriotic" about the true nation I am a citizen of, the eternal nation, the holy nation, that is God's Kingdom, His body, and about the eternal effects of it expanding and reigning or not?
2. I, who am so indignant about our nation's laws and direction, am I even more indignant and passionate and vocal about God's laws in my own life and within the church?
I do not believe God will pour out the only true answer—His Holy Spirit that draws men unto Jesus—if the church is not passionate about Him, about eternity, about holiness and purity in our own lives and ranks first. Why would He?
Nothing I am saying here is a call to compromise on what we believe is true and right before God, who does declare some things as true and right. But it is a call to never forget. To never, ever forget. That our enemy is not flesh and blood. That the "them" are real people whom God loves, with hurts and hopes and needs that are real and deep, with tears that flow like ours do, and hearts that hurt like ours do. May we live and love like Jesus. May we be humble and broken in our hearts toward our own sins and violations of God's laws, and living toward others as one saved only by the grace of God to another.
May we never forget the tears. God doesn't, and won't. Rather, it says, He will one day Himself wipe them from our eyes.
I am deeply concerned about this nation, and the nation I will hand my children and their children. I am deeply concerned it not longer puts God or His heart as the top of its list. I am concerned by it, and grieved by it, and I intend to continue to teach and live what I believe is truth. But as I do, in these days ahead, if I ever have to error, may it be on the side of love. May I love with a passion born of God's love for me and my love for Him. May I love in a way that the lost, the hurting, the confused find in me such a picture of His love that they run into His arms, and find their a Holy Spirit willing and ready and eager to lead and guide them down the road into His truth.
May I never forget the tears.
We talked. We listened to one another. We honored one another with listening and trying to hear one another's hearts. It was an amazing experience.
I still believe the Bible is clear about God's stand on homosexuality. I still believe that we, as Christians, can't legitimatize by law something we believe God says is sin. But it was a powerful reminder to me—one I hope I never forget—that this whole battle (or any battle, for that matter, be it abortion, etc.) is not about "them." The "them" are (granted there are extremists on both sides who make a genuine discussion hard), but the "them" are people with feelings, people who love, people who often want to please God, people who are hurt. They are real people and if we ever forget that, and walk not in love (which doesn't mean compromise), then no matter how correct our theology is, we will not be representing God.
I talked extensively about this with our fellowship yesterday, and I felt God bring two questions to my mind. They are questions the church must grapple with if we want God to wash this nation with His Holy Spirit (and I believe that is the only answer for us, that the individuals in this nation choose to love and obey Him above all else). Those two questions were:
1. I, who am so passionate and patriotic about America, am I even more passionate and "patriotic" about the true nation I am a citizen of, the eternal nation, the holy nation, that is God's Kingdom, His body, and about the eternal effects of it expanding and reigning or not?
2. I, who am so indignant about our nation's laws and direction, am I even more indignant and passionate and vocal about God's laws in my own life and within the church?
I do not believe God will pour out the only true answer—His Holy Spirit that draws men unto Jesus—if the church is not passionate about Him, about eternity, about holiness and purity in our own lives and ranks first. Why would He?
Nothing I am saying here is a call to compromise on what we believe is true and right before God, who does declare some things as true and right. But it is a call to never forget. To never, ever forget. That our enemy is not flesh and blood. That the "them" are real people whom God loves, with hurts and hopes and needs that are real and deep, with tears that flow like ours do, and hearts that hurt like ours do. May we live and love like Jesus. May we be humble and broken in our hearts toward our own sins and violations of God's laws, and living toward others as one saved only by the grace of God to another.
May we never forget the tears. God doesn't, and won't. Rather, it says, He will one day Himself wipe them from our eyes.
I am deeply concerned about this nation, and the nation I will hand my children and their children. I am deeply concerned it not longer puts God or His heart as the top of its list. I am concerned by it, and grieved by it, and I intend to continue to teach and live what I believe is truth. But as I do, in these days ahead, if I ever have to error, may it be on the side of love. May I love with a passion born of God's love for me and my love for Him. May I love in a way that the lost, the hurting, the confused find in me such a picture of His love that they run into His arms, and find their a Holy Spirit willing and ready and eager to lead and guide them down the road into His truth.
May I never forget the tears.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Make No Mistake . . .
This post is long, but I believe it will be of value to you, as a Christian, as you process the course of our nation and seek to understand things through a Biblical perspective. I believe it will help you clarify the true issue at work. —Erick
As the nation awaits the Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage we can not make the mistake of assuming that this is simply about marriage, or even the rights of homosexuals. It is a decision that will affect most Christian institutions, colleges, businesses, etc. It will be a decision that forever alters the fabric of our nation, and Christians in it who stand on Biblical principles and world view.
And, we can't make the mistake of seeing this as anything other than what it truly is—it is our nation's decision on what the very essence of its (our nation's) being will be. This is a decision that defines this nation at the core of what it is, and as such it carries a weight that is larger than we can fathom . . . and, unfortunately, is a battle it seems we've already lost.
As soon as this issue became defined as a civil rights issue it was lost to Christians who actually believe the Bible is God's inspired, written word to us, revealing Himself and His nature and heart. As a civil rights issue, as a fairness issue, I don't see people having a right to deny marriage to homosexuals—just as they wouldn't have a right to deny polygamy, or any other thing or type of marriage or lifestyle in the future that society may not embrace now but will embrace later as it gets more "tolerant" and more "progressive."
The thing is, this is not a civil rights issue, and as Christians we must understand this, as our resolve will fade eventually under the withering bombardment of being called small, hateful, intolerant, old-fashioned, fundamentalist, etc. This is not a civil rights issue, it is an issue at the very core of how we define right and wrong: Is there a God, above all, Who defines right and wrong, Who gives rights, and Whom we choose to submit to . . . or are right and wrong and rights something a majority or a legislative body or a court can decide and confer?
This question defines our nation. Our Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This sentence, taken in part, could be used to argue for the right of homosexuals to be happy and marry. But it is not written in part, but in whole. These rights come from a Creator, therefore the Creator must be considered in them . . . and the Creator, the God of the Bible, has very specific things to say about what is right and what is wrong, and homosexuality is absolutely wrong in His eyes, therefore giving it legal blessing in marriage is only further going against our Creator. (Note: He also calls adultery, lying, fornication—sex outside marriage, etc., wrong, and the church is, sadly, inconsistent and much less vocal about these things, even in our own ranks.)
How we stand on this issue—and other values issues the Bible has something to say about—will define us individually and as a nation. The moment we leave the argument that God is God, and God is real, and the Bible is His written revelation, and He says something about the issue, we have entered the moral quicksand of morality being defined by the masses or a despot or a court. We have given morality over to legal briefs and influential people, and we have walked away from God.
Over and over in the Bible it talks about something being evil or good in the sight of the Lord. No matter what man thinks, what matters is how God sees something. That is all that matters. And whether our nation embraces that as the foundational truth of itself, or whether it rejects it, we as Christians can not leave that moral high ground and try and argue morality on "practical" levels or we have left the only rock of truth we have to stand on. And if our nation does go that way (and it seems it already has), we, as Christians, must be firm in why we believe what we believe. And that is why, I believe, God calls the church which is the body of Christ and His bride, a holy nation, His own special people, citizens of Heaven. We live in America, but our citizenship is the Kingdom of God. We are His, and that identity transcends lines on a map. We were His when America embraced Him as their foundation, and we are His when it turns from Him. We are His, and that is eternal, and He knows who are His and who are not, and He holds eternity in His hands.
This issue will write into law the future of our nation. It, like Roe vs. Wade, will absolutely solidify and codify that we, as a nation, have no regard for what God says is right or wrong. It will say, "We, as a nation, have risen above God, knowing right and wrong, and conferring rights on people." Whatever the court decides, we as God's children must know, He loves the lost and desires to draw all men to Him . . . and He will never leave or forsake His children, whether America a few decades from now loves Him, or whether we are living a persecuted minority.
A Side Note—But Important Note—On Genesis and All of This
If you've known me, or read this blog, any length of time you know that defending the first ten chapters or so of Genesis as a literal record of Creation and a global flood is a passion of mine. In these decisions our nation is wrestling with we are seeing one of the strongest evidences for that importance play out before our eyes.
If we discount those chapters as allegory—submitting them to "science" instead of submitting science to the Bible, we have begun down a slippery slope we can't recover from. The church in the early 1800s found this out. They collapsed on the age of the earth (inventing Day Age Theory, or Gap Theory, to try and reconcile "science" and the Bible) and then along comes Darwin and they've already, as the church, climbed into bed with the major requirement of Darwinian evolution—vast periods of time. Suddenly the church is left holding a bag with a hole in it. They've already embraced the unBiblical vast periods of time. They've already said a key component of Genesis is allegory . . . and so they had no leg to stand on arguing the creation of man in God's image from the start was literal.
When we embrace those things, putting "science" (I say that loosely since many brilliant scientists whose voices aren't heard embrace a literal reading of Genesis) above the Bible, we are then hypocrites to defend a virgin birth, a resurrection, angels and demons, a parting of a sea, a feeding of thousands from a few loaves and fish, the turning of water to wine, etc. Each of these are areas "science" has no room for, and we are inconsistent and hypocritical to fight for them as true when we've already let "science" define the Bible for us.
And so, down the slippery slope, the Bible becomes untrustworthy, and subject to man's interpretation and molding to fit man's "wisdom." Does anyone else see a correlation between a nation professing to be Christian but embracing values that the Bible clearly speaks out against? When we start to see the Bible as a childish book, not able to stand against the progressive wisdom and mind of man, then we really shouldn't be surprised when we give it no authority on moral issues as well. It is truly the next logical stage of descent off the high mountain of the Bible (hence God's) authority. Why, oh why, church, are we so surprised. We who've watered down the very book God gave us?
And . . . should it be any surprise to us, and could it underline the argument I am making any better, then to see the very side defending traditional marriage argue before the Supreme Court use evolutionary terms, ". . . the marriage institution did not develop to deny dignity or to give second class status to anyone. It developed to serve purposes that, by their nature, arise from biology. Now, imagine a world today where we had no marriage at all. Men and women would still be getting together and creating children, but they wouldn’t be attached to each other in any social institution." (In fairness, he has made it clear the issue he was arguing is not about the definition of marriage, but if the people or the courts will decide it. Again . . . already lost . . . God is not even in that. He may be the reason the people—the states in court who are standing against homosexual marriage—voted against it, but whether or not their will stands is not about God, but about legality.)
Genesis does matter. Marriage hasn't "evolved," it is a God-ordained institution present in the first chapters of Genesis. It doesn't need to be defended on "practical" basis, it is what God has ordained and for us that is enough. And God has said certain lifestyles are wrong, and that should be enough for us as well. He is the only basis for the argument . . . and He is enough. For those who don't recognize that . . . those who may define much of our lives left here on earth . . . they will recognize it—on one side of the grave or the other.
As the nation awaits the Supreme Court's decision on gay marriage we can not make the mistake of assuming that this is simply about marriage, or even the rights of homosexuals. It is a decision that will affect most Christian institutions, colleges, businesses, etc. It will be a decision that forever alters the fabric of our nation, and Christians in it who stand on Biblical principles and world view.
And, we can't make the mistake of seeing this as anything other than what it truly is—it is our nation's decision on what the very essence of its (our nation's) being will be. This is a decision that defines this nation at the core of what it is, and as such it carries a weight that is larger than we can fathom . . . and, unfortunately, is a battle it seems we've already lost.
As soon as this issue became defined as a civil rights issue it was lost to Christians who actually believe the Bible is God's inspired, written word to us, revealing Himself and His nature and heart. As a civil rights issue, as a fairness issue, I don't see people having a right to deny marriage to homosexuals—just as they wouldn't have a right to deny polygamy, or any other thing or type of marriage or lifestyle in the future that society may not embrace now but will embrace later as it gets more "tolerant" and more "progressive."
The thing is, this is not a civil rights issue, and as Christians we must understand this, as our resolve will fade eventually under the withering bombardment of being called small, hateful, intolerant, old-fashioned, fundamentalist, etc. This is not a civil rights issue, it is an issue at the very core of how we define right and wrong: Is there a God, above all, Who defines right and wrong, Who gives rights, and Whom we choose to submit to . . . or are right and wrong and rights something a majority or a legislative body or a court can decide and confer?
This question defines our nation. Our Declaration of Independence says, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." This sentence, taken in part, could be used to argue for the right of homosexuals to be happy and marry. But it is not written in part, but in whole. These rights come from a Creator, therefore the Creator must be considered in them . . . and the Creator, the God of the Bible, has very specific things to say about what is right and what is wrong, and homosexuality is absolutely wrong in His eyes, therefore giving it legal blessing in marriage is only further going against our Creator. (Note: He also calls adultery, lying, fornication—sex outside marriage, etc., wrong, and the church is, sadly, inconsistent and much less vocal about these things, even in our own ranks.)
How we stand on this issue—and other values issues the Bible has something to say about—will define us individually and as a nation. The moment we leave the argument that God is God, and God is real, and the Bible is His written revelation, and He says something about the issue, we have entered the moral quicksand of morality being defined by the masses or a despot or a court. We have given morality over to legal briefs and influential people, and we have walked away from God.
Over and over in the Bible it talks about something being evil or good in the sight of the Lord. No matter what man thinks, what matters is how God sees something. That is all that matters. And whether our nation embraces that as the foundational truth of itself, or whether it rejects it, we as Christians can not leave that moral high ground and try and argue morality on "practical" levels or we have left the only rock of truth we have to stand on. And if our nation does go that way (and it seems it already has), we, as Christians, must be firm in why we believe what we believe. And that is why, I believe, God calls the church which is the body of Christ and His bride, a holy nation, His own special people, citizens of Heaven. We live in America, but our citizenship is the Kingdom of God. We are His, and that identity transcends lines on a map. We were His when America embraced Him as their foundation, and we are His when it turns from Him. We are His, and that is eternal, and He knows who are His and who are not, and He holds eternity in His hands.
This issue will write into law the future of our nation. It, like Roe vs. Wade, will absolutely solidify and codify that we, as a nation, have no regard for what God says is right or wrong. It will say, "We, as a nation, have risen above God, knowing right and wrong, and conferring rights on people." Whatever the court decides, we as God's children must know, He loves the lost and desires to draw all men to Him . . . and He will never leave or forsake His children, whether America a few decades from now loves Him, or whether we are living a persecuted minority.
A Side Note—But Important Note—On Genesis and All of This
If you've known me, or read this blog, any length of time you know that defending the first ten chapters or so of Genesis as a literal record of Creation and a global flood is a passion of mine. In these decisions our nation is wrestling with we are seeing one of the strongest evidences for that importance play out before our eyes.
If we discount those chapters as allegory—submitting them to "science" instead of submitting science to the Bible, we have begun down a slippery slope we can't recover from. The church in the early 1800s found this out. They collapsed on the age of the earth (inventing Day Age Theory, or Gap Theory, to try and reconcile "science" and the Bible) and then along comes Darwin and they've already, as the church, climbed into bed with the major requirement of Darwinian evolution—vast periods of time. Suddenly the church is left holding a bag with a hole in it. They've already embraced the unBiblical vast periods of time. They've already said a key component of Genesis is allegory . . . and so they had no leg to stand on arguing the creation of man in God's image from the start was literal.
When we embrace those things, putting "science" (I say that loosely since many brilliant scientists whose voices aren't heard embrace a literal reading of Genesis) above the Bible, we are then hypocrites to defend a virgin birth, a resurrection, angels and demons, a parting of a sea, a feeding of thousands from a few loaves and fish, the turning of water to wine, etc. Each of these are areas "science" has no room for, and we are inconsistent and hypocritical to fight for them as true when we've already let "science" define the Bible for us.
And so, down the slippery slope, the Bible becomes untrustworthy, and subject to man's interpretation and molding to fit man's "wisdom." Does anyone else see a correlation between a nation professing to be Christian but embracing values that the Bible clearly speaks out against? When we start to see the Bible as a childish book, not able to stand against the progressive wisdom and mind of man, then we really shouldn't be surprised when we give it no authority on moral issues as well. It is truly the next logical stage of descent off the high mountain of the Bible (hence God's) authority. Why, oh why, church, are we so surprised. We who've watered down the very book God gave us?
And . . . should it be any surprise to us, and could it underline the argument I am making any better, then to see the very side defending traditional marriage argue before the Supreme Court use evolutionary terms, ". . . the marriage institution did not develop to deny dignity or to give second class status to anyone. It developed to serve purposes that, by their nature, arise from biology. Now, imagine a world today where we had no marriage at all. Men and women would still be getting together and creating children, but they wouldn’t be attached to each other in any social institution." (In fairness, he has made it clear the issue he was arguing is not about the definition of marriage, but if the people or the courts will decide it. Again . . . already lost . . . God is not even in that. He may be the reason the people—the states in court who are standing against homosexual marriage—voted against it, but whether or not their will stands is not about God, but about legality.)
Genesis does matter. Marriage hasn't "evolved," it is a God-ordained institution present in the first chapters of Genesis. It doesn't need to be defended on "practical" basis, it is what God has ordained and for us that is enough. And God has said certain lifestyles are wrong, and that should be enough for us as well. He is the only basis for the argument . . . and He is enough. For those who don't recognize that . . . those who may define much of our lives left here on earth . . . they will recognize it—on one side of the grave or the other.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
Frisbees and Faith
Yesterday I posted on "Posture of the Heart"—a topic God has been showing our Men's Group about the relationship and balance between humility and meekness, and boldness and confidence and authority. These qualities are contradictory in the same person in a person of the world, but essential in a Christian.
On Thursday night I shared this topic with our youth group and I used the following example to help them understand it (I did this before I told them what we'd be studying): I took the youth group outside to our back parking lot, a large, mowed "field" in most people's eyes. I picked a young lady who I thought could throw a frisbee decently, and a young man who I figured could throw it farther. I had the young lady take a couple of throws for practice and then the young man. I was right in that he threw farther then her each time. I then, casually, teased another young man who I'd had in the field retrieving for me and I said, "You look bored," and I threw it far over his head, at least twice as far as the farthest throw either youth grouper had made (I played frisbee every day in high school).
I then gave the two youth groupers who I'd had throw a hypothetical situation, telling them I wasn't encouraging gambling, but asking them to imagine they both had $5 they could bet, and they'd get three times that amount back if they won. The bet? They would each get two throws and could pick their farthest throw, and the farthest one was the winner. I first asked the girl how much she'd bet of her $5 that her farthest throw would be farther than his farthest throw. Her answer: "Is zero an option?"
I then asked him and he said he'd bet it all. I nodded then changed it up. I said to the girl, "How about you and I partner? You take one of your throws and I'll take the other, and the farthest of those two will be your farthest throw?" The boy promptly (and good naturedly) complained it wasn't fair, and she promptly decided to bet her full $5. He decided to bet nothing.
We then went inside and sat in our usual circle on the carpet and talked about it, and I believe the youth saw the concept that the girl had the humility and meekness to recognize what she could (and couldn't) do—to be honest with herself, about herself. And in that humility and meekness she was able to partner with one far stronger and more equipped then her, and that partnership gave her tremendous confidence and boldness. Had she been overconfident or arrogant about her abilities she'd probably have bet and lost it all on herself, but she wasn't. She was honest about herself and her weaknesses, and that opened her up for the colaboring partnership. And, as such, she was the blend of humility and meekness, with confidence and boldness, that God asks of us in our relationship with Him.
As I wrote in yesterday's post, that is our walk of faith—an honesty that recognizes our weaknesses, our tendency to temptation, our inability to do it on our own; and the resulting placing of our trust into God and His promises for us and presence with us. As such we can be humble and loving and serving to others, and yet confident and authoritative in the calling and words and stand God calls us to take with and for Him.
Hopefully this example helps. I believe it did for the youth. God bless all of you, and thanks for sharing in my life. —Erick
On Thursday night I shared this topic with our youth group and I used the following example to help them understand it (I did this before I told them what we'd be studying): I took the youth group outside to our back parking lot, a large, mowed "field" in most people's eyes. I picked a young lady who I thought could throw a frisbee decently, and a young man who I figured could throw it farther. I had the young lady take a couple of throws for practice and then the young man. I was right in that he threw farther then her each time. I then, casually, teased another young man who I'd had in the field retrieving for me and I said, "You look bored," and I threw it far over his head, at least twice as far as the farthest throw either youth grouper had made (I played frisbee every day in high school).
I then gave the two youth groupers who I'd had throw a hypothetical situation, telling them I wasn't encouraging gambling, but asking them to imagine they both had $5 they could bet, and they'd get three times that amount back if they won. The bet? They would each get two throws and could pick their farthest throw, and the farthest one was the winner. I first asked the girl how much she'd bet of her $5 that her farthest throw would be farther than his farthest throw. Her answer: "Is zero an option?"
I then asked him and he said he'd bet it all. I nodded then changed it up. I said to the girl, "How about you and I partner? You take one of your throws and I'll take the other, and the farthest of those two will be your farthest throw?" The boy promptly (and good naturedly) complained it wasn't fair, and she promptly decided to bet her full $5. He decided to bet nothing.
We then went inside and sat in our usual circle on the carpet and talked about it, and I believe the youth saw the concept that the girl had the humility and meekness to recognize what she could (and couldn't) do—to be honest with herself, about herself. And in that humility and meekness she was able to partner with one far stronger and more equipped then her, and that partnership gave her tremendous confidence and boldness. Had she been overconfident or arrogant about her abilities she'd probably have bet and lost it all on herself, but she wasn't. She was honest about herself and her weaknesses, and that opened her up for the colaboring partnership. And, as such, she was the blend of humility and meekness, with confidence and boldness, that God asks of us in our relationship with Him.
As I wrote in yesterday's post, that is our walk of faith—an honesty that recognizes our weaknesses, our tendency to temptation, our inability to do it on our own; and the resulting placing of our trust into God and His promises for us and presence with us. As such we can be humble and loving and serving to others, and yet confident and authoritative in the calling and words and stand God calls us to take with and for Him.
Hopefully this example helps. I believe it did for the youth. God bless all of you, and thanks for sharing in my life. —Erick
Friday, April 24, 2015
Posture of the Heart
Over the last couple of months our Men's Group has been talking about the posture of the heart God desires in Godly men. I don't think what we've seen is limited to men alone, and I wanted to share it with you.
In a nutshell I believe we've seen that God requires His people to walk in a mixture of humility and love and service, but also in confidence and boldness and authority. In the world's economy those things are contradictory and even Jekyll and Hyde "ish"—but in God's kingdom the two are mutually dependent on the other, and essential. It has been fascinating to see how these both work together.
We looked first at Moses, a man the Bible calls the meekest of men. And yet God called him to a place of tremendous boldness (who else, but Moses, would have been most aware of what he would face in facing Pharaoh . . . of Pharaoh's power, his army, his magicians' dark power?). Each time Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3 and 4) brought up to God a weakness of his (of Moses') God didn't deny that weakness or boost Moses' self-esteem, but rather God met Moses' weakness with a promise of God's presence and provision and leading. It was at the end when Moses kept trying to get out of it and focus on his own weaknesses that God finally got angry at Moses. It is as if in His anger God has said, "Moses, you are meek, and you have weakness, but I have met each moment of such with a promise, and you are, in a nutshell, saying that I am not enough."
It is important that we see that God never tried to boost Moses' self-esteem, or tell him he was the man with the plan and skill. If Moses thought he was Mr. Right for the job he would have failed, but in his weakness God could offer him His strength and presence, and in reliance on that and not himself, Moses could walk in tremendous confidence and boldness before Pharaoh, ocean obstacles, and grumbling Israelites.
Beyond Moses we've looked at New Testament passages that call us to humble ourselves, and they come with the promise that God will lift us up. When God lifts us up we can stand in tremendous confidence and boldness when we are standing in what He has called us to do or be, whether it is to speak His words or to confront the hosts of darkness—but He won't lift us up until we humble ourselves. He actually promises to resist/oppose the proud. So . . . to be proud in our own strength causes God to work against us, which should scare us a lot; but to be humble about ourselves causes God to lift us up, which gives us every reason for confidence!
We then looked at David who was tremendously humble and broken before God (see Psalm 51), and yet bold and unapologetic toward man (see 2 Samuel 6:16–23 when his wife mocks him for worshipping God exuberantly). God gives David the highest honor known to man, to call David a man after God's own heart. And we see in David a man humble before God, dependent upon God, deeply aware of his own sin and failings—and a man who, when standing in the place God called Him to stand, was bold, confident, authoritative, and a worshipper and leader beyond measurer. Again, the "paradox" of Godly men (and women): humility in evaluating self and seeing self against others, but confidence in being who God called him to be, confident in God and not Himself.
We see the same thing in Paul who was deeply aware of his own sin and shortcomings, but who stood in his calling with authority, confronting enemies of the church and the hosts of darkness with boldness and confidence and God's power. We see it in Jesus who spoke not a word in His own defense, but spoke with authority and stood with confidence against the enemies of His Father's message and against the forces of darkness.
Perhaps one of the clearest examples of this "paradox" is seen in the Centurion (Matthew 8:5–10) about whom God paid another highest of all compliments. Of him Jesus said he'd seen no faith to match his in all of Israel (and the Centurion was a Roman!). When the Centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant and Jesus said He'd come to the his house to do so the Centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it."
We see here tremendous humility in an obvious way (I am not worthy), and also in a way we may first miss. What is the key to authority the Centurion reveals? It is that to be a man in authority, we must be a man under authority. For example, I could not give you a speeding ticket on my own, but if I was submitted to the government as a police officer (one under authority) I would have the delegated authority of that position. Leaders in the military or workplace are similar. They have the authority they are given by the one they are, themselves, under. So, again, here is that amazing "paradox" at work (and essential) in God's Kingdom: when we humble ourselves and submit ourselves to God's authority, we then walk in God's authority as God's servants and called ones. First comes the humility that recognizes our brokeness and need of God and recognizes God's Lordship and worthiness of our surrender, and from that comes the calling to walk as men (and women) called of God in the positions He calls us to—leaders, those called to speak His truths and proclaim Him, confronters of the demonic, etc.We could go on and on with more examples—what about Gideon who said he was the least when called by God and to whom God didn't deny that, but rather promised His presence and then called Gideon to stand, 300 against over 100,000.
But in the end, to wrap it up, I see that this paradox is exactly the call to walk in faith that is on our lives as Christians. What is faith? It is the recognition of our weakness and need and inability to do it on our own (be it salvation, or daily strength). That recognition makes us humble and gentle towards others in any sense in which we must deal with them as servants, neighbors, etc. But then, in faith, we place our trust and confidence in God—God!—God who breathes out stars!—and in that trust we find tremendous confidence and authority and boldness in any and every area He has called us, be it speaking His truth and words, standing on His promises, or confronting darkness, because it is not our "strength" we stand in or our "authority" we confront in, but rather in the strength and authority of the one we have ourselves submitted to.
In a nutshell I believe we've seen that God requires His people to walk in a mixture of humility and love and service, but also in confidence and boldness and authority. In the world's economy those things are contradictory and even Jekyll and Hyde "ish"—but in God's kingdom the two are mutually dependent on the other, and essential. It has been fascinating to see how these both work together.
We looked first at Moses, a man the Bible calls the meekest of men. And yet God called him to a place of tremendous boldness (who else, but Moses, would have been most aware of what he would face in facing Pharaoh . . . of Pharaoh's power, his army, his magicians' dark power?). Each time Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3 and 4) brought up to God a weakness of his (of Moses') God didn't deny that weakness or boost Moses' self-esteem, but rather God met Moses' weakness with a promise of God's presence and provision and leading. It was at the end when Moses kept trying to get out of it and focus on his own weaknesses that God finally got angry at Moses. It is as if in His anger God has said, "Moses, you are meek, and you have weakness, but I have met each moment of such with a promise, and you are, in a nutshell, saying that I am not enough."
It is important that we see that God never tried to boost Moses' self-esteem, or tell him he was the man with the plan and skill. If Moses thought he was Mr. Right for the job he would have failed, but in his weakness God could offer him His strength and presence, and in reliance on that and not himself, Moses could walk in tremendous confidence and boldness before Pharaoh, ocean obstacles, and grumbling Israelites.
Beyond Moses we've looked at New Testament passages that call us to humble ourselves, and they come with the promise that God will lift us up. When God lifts us up we can stand in tremendous confidence and boldness when we are standing in what He has called us to do or be, whether it is to speak His words or to confront the hosts of darkness—but He won't lift us up until we humble ourselves. He actually promises to resist/oppose the proud. So . . . to be proud in our own strength causes God to work against us, which should scare us a lot; but to be humble about ourselves causes God to lift us up, which gives us every reason for confidence!
We then looked at David who was tremendously humble and broken before God (see Psalm 51), and yet bold and unapologetic toward man (see 2 Samuel 6:16–23 when his wife mocks him for worshipping God exuberantly). God gives David the highest honor known to man, to call David a man after God's own heart. And we see in David a man humble before God, dependent upon God, deeply aware of his own sin and failings—and a man who, when standing in the place God called Him to stand, was bold, confident, authoritative, and a worshipper and leader beyond measurer. Again, the "paradox" of Godly men (and women): humility in evaluating self and seeing self against others, but confidence in being who God called him to be, confident in God and not Himself.
We see the same thing in Paul who was deeply aware of his own sin and shortcomings, but who stood in his calling with authority, confronting enemies of the church and the hosts of darkness with boldness and confidence and God's power. We see it in Jesus who spoke not a word in His own defense, but spoke with authority and stood with confidence against the enemies of His Father's message and against the forces of darkness.
Perhaps one of the clearest examples of this "paradox" is seen in the Centurion (Matthew 8:5–10) about whom God paid another highest of all compliments. Of him Jesus said he'd seen no faith to match his in all of Israel (and the Centurion was a Roman!). When the Centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant and Jesus said He'd come to the his house to do so the Centurion replied, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it."
We see here tremendous humility in an obvious way (I am not worthy), and also in a way we may first miss. What is the key to authority the Centurion reveals? It is that to be a man in authority, we must be a man under authority. For example, I could not give you a speeding ticket on my own, but if I was submitted to the government as a police officer (one under authority) I would have the delegated authority of that position. Leaders in the military or workplace are similar. They have the authority they are given by the one they are, themselves, under. So, again, here is that amazing "paradox" at work (and essential) in God's Kingdom: when we humble ourselves and submit ourselves to God's authority, we then walk in God's authority as God's servants and called ones. First comes the humility that recognizes our brokeness and need of God and recognizes God's Lordship and worthiness of our surrender, and from that comes the calling to walk as men (and women) called of God in the positions He calls us to—leaders, those called to speak His truths and proclaim Him, confronters of the demonic, etc.We could go on and on with more examples—what about Gideon who said he was the least when called by God and to whom God didn't deny that, but rather promised His presence and then called Gideon to stand, 300 against over 100,000.
But in the end, to wrap it up, I see that this paradox is exactly the call to walk in faith that is on our lives as Christians. What is faith? It is the recognition of our weakness and need and inability to do it on our own (be it salvation, or daily strength). That recognition makes us humble and gentle towards others in any sense in which we must deal with them as servants, neighbors, etc. But then, in faith, we place our trust and confidence in God—God!—God who breathes out stars!—and in that trust we find tremendous confidence and authority and boldness in any and every area He has called us, be it speaking His truth and words, standing on His promises, or confronting darkness, because it is not our "strength" we stand in or our "authority" we confront in, but rather in the strength and authority of the one we have ourselves submitted to.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Update
I hope this finds all of you well. Obviously I've not posted in many months, and I value the freedom of only posting when I feel God's leading and not trying to maintain a readership or following. If you've subscribed to my posts you are likely a friend or family, or at least acquaintance, and probably know that this blog is simply a place I began to now and then share thoughts, things God might be showing me, slices of our life, etc. It actually began as a place for me to record the highlights of these things for my girls to one day read without having to wade through all my old teachings, etc. From there came the thought that if I was blessed by something, others might be too. Thanks for reading, and sharing, and caring.
We are well. We are enjoying quiet life in the country, horses, and the simple things that make life most special—time together, being out doors, good coffee and fellowship, friendships, and family. We are very busy with Mary Ann homeschooling the girls and still being a mom and the wife of a husband who loves every second he can get with her, the different hats I wear, the horses the girls enjoy, and the work required to keep up a home and acreage in the country.
Most of my free time, when not spent with family, has been working on a novel I've been writing on for over a year now. It is a Christian "western" set in the 1880s and it has been fascinating to see the places God has taken me in the research for it, and the way He's been helping me (and hopefully leading me) to work in to it different things He's shown me over the years about two main areas: faith being one, and the collapse of man's confidence in the written account of Genesis being the second. The 1880s were a critical time in that collapse on the part of the church, coming mere decades after Darwin's book, which followed the church already caving in on the age of the earth issue.
I'd value your prayers for the book as I seek to be led by God and to find time to write in the midst of being a husband, father, pastor, youth leader, and volunteer fire-fighter and chaplain. These things all come first, so needless to say the novel is a now and then thing, but I did cross 100,000 words recently and from the first vision of Chapter 1 which I woke up in the middle of the night with I am feeling His hand. I just need to trust His timing and know when He says to write, and when He says to focus on others or other things.
The fellowship is moving along as a fellowship does, with some people experiencing some real growth and victories, and others struggling. I am beginning a teaching on the essential nature and role of the Holy Spirit and I hope that it will awaken in us a hunger for His leading and magnified presence. I know that the Holy Spirit has been used (by name) to abuse many in the church, but I believe we can run so far from a fear of excess that we can stray in the other direction of error and avoid Him altogether. I'd value your prayers as well on this series and for the fellowship.
One thing that has been a real blessing over the last year has been our Men's Group. A core of around seven to nine of us have met regularly, twice a month, and it has been the first time we've found a successful way to have a consistent men's fellowship. It has been a true joy to see the developing closeness in the men and to have this place to share and grow. I believe the church in general, and this nation for sure, are desperately in need of Godly men to stand in the places and roles in the church, community, workplaces, and families God has called them to. I will post soon about the recent line of conversation and study we have been on, which is one I think will bless you. It is about the posture of the heart God calls His people to walk in, and how in God's kingdom humility and authority/confidence are not contradictory, but mutually essential.
God bless all of you. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for being an extended part of my life.
We are well. We are enjoying quiet life in the country, horses, and the simple things that make life most special—time together, being out doors, good coffee and fellowship, friendships, and family. We are very busy with Mary Ann homeschooling the girls and still being a mom and the wife of a husband who loves every second he can get with her, the different hats I wear, the horses the girls enjoy, and the work required to keep up a home and acreage in the country.
Most of my free time, when not spent with family, has been working on a novel I've been writing on for over a year now. It is a Christian "western" set in the 1880s and it has been fascinating to see the places God has taken me in the research for it, and the way He's been helping me (and hopefully leading me) to work in to it different things He's shown me over the years about two main areas: faith being one, and the collapse of man's confidence in the written account of Genesis being the second. The 1880s were a critical time in that collapse on the part of the church, coming mere decades after Darwin's book, which followed the church already caving in on the age of the earth issue.
I'd value your prayers for the book as I seek to be led by God and to find time to write in the midst of being a husband, father, pastor, youth leader, and volunteer fire-fighter and chaplain. These things all come first, so needless to say the novel is a now and then thing, but I did cross 100,000 words recently and from the first vision of Chapter 1 which I woke up in the middle of the night with I am feeling His hand. I just need to trust His timing and know when He says to write, and when He says to focus on others or other things.
The fellowship is moving along as a fellowship does, with some people experiencing some real growth and victories, and others struggling. I am beginning a teaching on the essential nature and role of the Holy Spirit and I hope that it will awaken in us a hunger for His leading and magnified presence. I know that the Holy Spirit has been used (by name) to abuse many in the church, but I believe we can run so far from a fear of excess that we can stray in the other direction of error and avoid Him altogether. I'd value your prayers as well on this series and for the fellowship.
One thing that has been a real blessing over the last year has been our Men's Group. A core of around seven to nine of us have met regularly, twice a month, and it has been the first time we've found a successful way to have a consistent men's fellowship. It has been a true joy to see the developing closeness in the men and to have this place to share and grow. I believe the church in general, and this nation for sure, are desperately in need of Godly men to stand in the places and roles in the church, community, workplaces, and families God has called them to. I will post soon about the recent line of conversation and study we have been on, which is one I think will bless you. It is about the posture of the heart God calls His people to walk in, and how in God's kingdom humility and authority/confidence are not contradictory, but mutually essential.
God bless all of you. I'd love to hear from you. Thanks for being an extended part of my life.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Mountain and Valley Thoughts
I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, filled with a deep sense of awe and wonder at God's love for us and plan for the ages, and a deep security in His love and presence. December went, for us, way to fast. For me the Thanksgiving and Christmas season is my favorite of the year, but every year it seems to speed up and fly past faster than the last. And yet, when I look back and ask myself what about it I shouldn't have done, should have changed, etc., I can't see that there is any part of it I should have skipped. (A little secret, just between us . . . I am going to watch a bunch of Christmas movies this week and listen to a bunch of Christmas music to catch up what I missed and to try and immerse myself in the wonder of God's gift now that the flurry of celebrating it has passed. But, don't tell anyone!)
Mary Ann and I got back down "off the mountain" this Sunday night, returning from Hume Lake Christian Camp with 24 high schoolers and 4 other adults. It was a really incredible weekend, but we were sure tired. I wanted to share two things about it that might bless you—one from the mountain top, and one from after we were home.
On the Mountain: While up there I reflected on the number of youth (and counselors) we've taken there (or to other similar types of events of concentrated God time). This was our 19th winter taking kids to Hume, and I think for me somewhere around trip number 33 or 34 with kids to Hume, plus I don't know how many times as a family or to other events there. I was struck in my reflecting by one of those moments when things were very clear in their simplicity.
As I reflected on the chapel times there, and on countless similar times counseling people as a pastor, chaplain for the fire department, etc., that there is an irony in that we "get" that being good at anything takes work, and yet we seem so surprised when we invest nothing in our relationship with God and after a year wonder why we aren't closer to Him. As I looked at the youth, and thought back over the past, I saw how many of them are so diligent and make so many sacrifices for sports, grades, 4H, etc., and wouldn't expect to excel in any of them without personal discipline and sacrifice . . . and yet do little to nothing to grow in Christ and wonder why they feel so distant from Him and hear so little from Him, or fall so quickly back into old patterns. (This truth applies equally to adults.)
So, the last morning, I shared that with them and I am hoping it resonated. I told them that they understand that growing in something takes work—they demonstrate this understanding in many things they apply themselves to—and that their walk with God is no different. And I reflected . . . isn't it puzzling how such an obvious truth to us seems to so easily elude us in our Christian life. We somehow act as if simply acknowledging God will make us grow with Him and be stronger, and yet we'd laugh if someone said that simply saying they like football or school will make them a good football player or student. Anyway, it was just a thought—a moment of clarity—and I thought it might bless you or be something you could share with another in an example that would ring true with them.
Back Home: Then, this morning, an elderly gentleman who grew up in this area but now lives in town, read about our trip in the article I write for our community newsletter and called to thank us for our work with youth in these hills and valleys. I was sharing with him that we are taking 35 youth between this trip and the upcoming middle school one, and how crazy amazing that is considering how small our community and church is. We got talking about how, though, a lot of those youth don't stick after Hume, or grow, and how we have to trust that God's word was planted for later harvest, and that they know they were loved and cared for. As we talked it reminded me of a pivotal moment in my life when Mary Ann and I were very discouraged after a youth camp we put on and were talking to the pastor at the time (the man I took over pastoring for). He asked us a simple question—"Did you do what God asked you to do?"
After thinking about it we replied that we felt we had and he said, basically, "Then that is all God asked you to do. He is responsible for the results." It was one of the most freeing moments of our life as I realized that I am, indeed, only responsible for doing what He asks me to do. I have had this and similar revelations free me tremendously when, say, counseling a struggling marriage or an addiction—the problem is really God's to solve, it is not my problem. I am responsible for being obedient and usable, but ultimately it is His. This is a wonderful realization because the weight of the burdens around is too much to bear. It doesn't mean we don't care, we don't weep, we don't love—but we recognize that the results are God's to bring about, what He asks of us is to be obedient.
God bless all of you and, as always, thanks for sharing in my life! —Erick
Mary Ann and I got back down "off the mountain" this Sunday night, returning from Hume Lake Christian Camp with 24 high schoolers and 4 other adults. It was a really incredible weekend, but we were sure tired. I wanted to share two things about it that might bless you—one from the mountain top, and one from after we were home.
On the Mountain: While up there I reflected on the number of youth (and counselors) we've taken there (or to other similar types of events of concentrated God time). This was our 19th winter taking kids to Hume, and I think for me somewhere around trip number 33 or 34 with kids to Hume, plus I don't know how many times as a family or to other events there. I was struck in my reflecting by one of those moments when things were very clear in their simplicity.
As I reflected on the chapel times there, and on countless similar times counseling people as a pastor, chaplain for the fire department, etc., that there is an irony in that we "get" that being good at anything takes work, and yet we seem so surprised when we invest nothing in our relationship with God and after a year wonder why we aren't closer to Him. As I looked at the youth, and thought back over the past, I saw how many of them are so diligent and make so many sacrifices for sports, grades, 4H, etc., and wouldn't expect to excel in any of them without personal discipline and sacrifice . . . and yet do little to nothing to grow in Christ and wonder why they feel so distant from Him and hear so little from Him, or fall so quickly back into old patterns. (This truth applies equally to adults.)
So, the last morning, I shared that with them and I am hoping it resonated. I told them that they understand that growing in something takes work—they demonstrate this understanding in many things they apply themselves to—and that their walk with God is no different. And I reflected . . . isn't it puzzling how such an obvious truth to us seems to so easily elude us in our Christian life. We somehow act as if simply acknowledging God will make us grow with Him and be stronger, and yet we'd laugh if someone said that simply saying they like football or school will make them a good football player or student. Anyway, it was just a thought—a moment of clarity—and I thought it might bless you or be something you could share with another in an example that would ring true with them.
Back Home: Then, this morning, an elderly gentleman who grew up in this area but now lives in town, read about our trip in the article I write for our community newsletter and called to thank us for our work with youth in these hills and valleys. I was sharing with him that we are taking 35 youth between this trip and the upcoming middle school one, and how crazy amazing that is considering how small our community and church is. We got talking about how, though, a lot of those youth don't stick after Hume, or grow, and how we have to trust that God's word was planted for later harvest, and that they know they were loved and cared for. As we talked it reminded me of a pivotal moment in my life when Mary Ann and I were very discouraged after a youth camp we put on and were talking to the pastor at the time (the man I took over pastoring for). He asked us a simple question—"Did you do what God asked you to do?"
After thinking about it we replied that we felt we had and he said, basically, "Then that is all God asked you to do. He is responsible for the results." It was one of the most freeing moments of our life as I realized that I am, indeed, only responsible for doing what He asks me to do. I have had this and similar revelations free me tremendously when, say, counseling a struggling marriage or an addiction—the problem is really God's to solve, it is not my problem. I am responsible for being obedient and usable, but ultimately it is His. This is a wonderful realization because the weight of the burdens around is too much to bear. It doesn't mean we don't care, we don't weep, we don't love—but we recognize that the results are God's to bring about, what He asks of us is to be obedient.
God bless all of you and, as always, thanks for sharing in my life! —Erick
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