I'm reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship again and every time I read his book, it gets me thinking. Some would say that's a good thing, some might say it's kind of scary, but here's what Bonhoeffer has me thinking about today.
I'm struck again by his emphasis on obedience as a key part of being a disciple of Jesus. In fact, without obedience to God, there is no faith. This is striking a chord in me. Granted, the institutional church has gotten a bad name because of its focus on rules over grace and on believing the right doctrine over right living together, yet obedience is still relevant and important.
I'm thinking about hockey and how, if you don't obey the rules the coach makes, you don't play, and if it goes on long enough, you get thrown off the team. This weekend in the NHL, a player has been suspended because he hasn't obeyed society's rules on how to treat a woman. He allegedly beat her and now is off the team for a time, and if found guilty, he's off the team for good and everyone says that's a good thing. But now if you relate this to faith and following Jesus, people want to keep their options open. They want quick forgiveness with little or no consequences when they don't obey God; after-all, isn't God all about grace? It seems kind of odd to me that many people want sport organizations to have higher standards than the church or God, with the excuse that we need to show grace. Yet rebelling against God is a life or death act.
Can you be a real follower of Jesus without radically obeying his teachings? I guess you can if you accept him only as teacher, but can you not do everything you can to obey and follow Jesus' teachings if you accept him as God?
One last thought, Bonhoeffer asks whether you try to get around Jesus' teachings by spiritualizing them or turning them into metaphors so you can say you are obedient without really obeying? God created us with imaginations, and I'm often amazed at how we use our imaginations to get around God's call on our lives instead of using them to discover even more ways to obey him. Don't get me wrong, I believe in grace; in deep radical grace, and I need this grace more than anyone, but I wonder if we understand what this grace is really all about and how much it cost God? I wonder if we've read so much of the forgiveness and grace passages without reading the passages about the extreme life Jesus calls us to when he says, "Come, follow me."
How would your life be different if you really obeyed Jesus? I've got a long ways to go still; are you willing to join me in this journey? We do this better together!
Monday, 20 October 2014
Thursday, 9 October 2014
Grace Saved Me
Do you think of yourself as a sinner? What a strange concept for so many people today. We live in a time where everyone wins and everyone gets praised for normal everyday achievements. I don't normally watch shows like American Idol, but I did appreciate one of the judge's comments to a singer who was especially bad, "Hasn't anyone ever told you that you cannot sing?" When the person in question answered that her mother always praises her singing, the judge replied, "She did you no favour in lying to you." When no one is willing to tell you that you that you might be horrible at something like singing, however could they tell you that you're a sinner in the need of forgiveness?
Yet, when we're honest with ourselves, we all realize that not all out thoughts, all our actions are right; that we can be awfully self-centered most of the time, easily ignoring others and failing to help when we have opportunities to help. These are sins of omission, and then there are all those times we actively sin by our words or actions. It's actually healthy to acknowledge that we are sinners; it makes us more open to recognizing our need for someone to help us deal with our sins, because if we could deal with them ourselves, we would have. Simply having sinned shows us we cannot deal with sin ourselves.
I appreciate the Apostle Paul's honesty when he admits that he does the things he doesn't want to do because he knows they're wrong, and all those good things he wants to do, he way too often doesn't do them. It puts me in good company. This is why I've embraced the hope found in Paul's words in his letter to the people in Ephesus, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved."
These words have transformed lives from drudgery to joy and beauty, from worrying if God loves you and you are worthy of God's love to experiencing God as your father, from needing to work at earning God's attention and favour to resting in God's hands because he's taken care of the sin you've done and fallen into, picking you back, washing you clean and declaring that you are now princesses and princes in the world as daughters and sons of God saving you from death. This, all from God with nothing needed from you, based in his love and mercy, his grace. There is nothing you need to do to be saved, there is nothing you can do to be saved, it's all in God's hands, based on his love and kindness. For this reason alone, we need not worry about whether we are saved from death and eternal separation from God, instead we can focus on life and living.
So on this Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, give thanks, but not just for your stuff, but for the grace and forgiveness from God that brings real living.
Yet, when we're honest with ourselves, we all realize that not all out thoughts, all our actions are right; that we can be awfully self-centered most of the time, easily ignoring others and failing to help when we have opportunities to help. These are sins of omission, and then there are all those times we actively sin by our words or actions. It's actually healthy to acknowledge that we are sinners; it makes us more open to recognizing our need for someone to help us deal with our sins, because if we could deal with them ourselves, we would have. Simply having sinned shows us we cannot deal with sin ourselves.
I appreciate the Apostle Paul's honesty when he admits that he does the things he doesn't want to do because he knows they're wrong, and all those good things he wants to do, he way too often doesn't do them. It puts me in good company. This is why I've embraced the hope found in Paul's words in his letter to the people in Ephesus, "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions---it is by grace you have been saved."
These words have transformed lives from drudgery to joy and beauty, from worrying if God loves you and you are worthy of God's love to experiencing God as your father, from needing to work at earning God's attention and favour to resting in God's hands because he's taken care of the sin you've done and fallen into, picking you back, washing you clean and declaring that you are now princesses and princes in the world as daughters and sons of God saving you from death. This, all from God with nothing needed from you, based in his love and mercy, his grace. There is nothing you need to do to be saved, there is nothing you can do to be saved, it's all in God's hands, based on his love and kindness. For this reason alone, we need not worry about whether we are saved from death and eternal separation from God, instead we can focus on life and living.
So on this Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, give thanks, but not just for your stuff, but for the grace and forgiveness from God that brings real living.
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
Chosen by God: election
We live in a culture where we have so much choice in almost everything. We choose what to eat, a blessing so many people in the world don't have. We choose our school, our job (to a certain extent anyway), our church (lots of church hoppers and shoppers out there), our clothes (some make better choices than others my kids tell me), and how we spend our time among all our other choices. Is it any wonder then that a lot of believers want to believe that they have chosen to believe and accept God rather than believing that God chose us before we chose him, something the church calls 'election.'
It's about control; who is really in control of your life? In a culture as individualistic as ours, being our own boss, being in control over our own lives is important to many people. Few people like being a follower and accept that others can tell us what to do. When I talk to human resource managers or small business owners, they all say similar things, no one wants to start at the bottom anymore under other people, everyone believes they are smarter and better than everyone else and should be the one in charge, or at the very least, second in charge, but only for a short time.
But when it comes to our relationship with God, I'm glad it doesn't rely on my having chosen God first because otherwise there would be no relationship with God; I know my own heart and tendencies! I love how Paul puts it in Ephesians 1 "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." God chose us because he loves us and this love means that he not only chooses us to be his followers and people, but he chooses us to be his daughters and sons; members of his family.
If you believe that you chose God first and that he chose you only because he knew you were going to choose him, you over-estimate yourself. You also take the grace out of salvation because now you are taking credit for choosing God rather than accepting the amazing grace and love God has for you even though you're still a sinner who consistently chooses to do your own thing instead of submitting yourself completely to God's will.
There's amazing comfort in knowing God chose me even though I'm a mess-up because I know I'll stay chosen. If my relationship with God began with me, I could also un-choose him, something like many people do today with their churches and with God. I can admit my sins, confessing and repenting, but never having to fear that God will get fed-up with me. It allows me to sleep well at night knowing I'm completely in God's hands and nothing, especially myself, can knock me out of them. Praise the Lord!
Thursday, 28 August 2014
Coveting and Contentment
Coveting, an older churchy Bible word that means 'to really want something.' Coveting is not something bad in itself, you can covet good things and bad things, in good ways and bad ways. People have come up to me saying, "I covet your prayers," meaning they would really appreciate it if I prayed for them. Often though, coveting is used in a more negative way, in the way God uses it in the last commandment, "You shall not covet......" in wanting something that someone else has and you don't. But what's wrong with wanting something that someone else has? Isn't that the motivation behind working harder so you can get it for yourself? Isn't that the foundation of the Canadian (American) dream; always looking to achieve or get more: a bigger house, better job, cottage, whatever? Though I can see that if you covet your neighbour's wife or husband it's rather negative and I feel really bad for your spouse, you're not supposed to be trying to get yourself a new spouse when you already have one. But why would God tell us that a strong motivating emotion like coveting is wrong if it makes us work harder?
I believe the reason God takes such a strong stand against coveting is the tendency we have to make gods out of the things we really want. We aren't very good at keeping things in balance or perspective, and coveting feeds that part of our hearts that says, "more, more, me, me..." and forgets what God has already given and blessed us with. Coveting makes it really hard to be content and appreciate what you already have. It takes your eyes off of God and his desire for us and sets our eyes on ourselves instead. Contentment is the counter to coveting, and contentment is hard to learn, hard to embrace when all around you the mantra is to work harder to get more, to get more because you deserve it.
So how do you practice contentment, or do you think it's rather foolish and simply an excuse for lazy people to slack off? Personally, the more I work at keeping my focus on God and what I already have, the more I'm experiencing contentment and God's joy and happiness in the family, work and things I have, and the more I want to be a blessing to others. Try it, it's life changing!
I believe the reason God takes such a strong stand against coveting is the tendency we have to make gods out of the things we really want. We aren't very good at keeping things in balance or perspective, and coveting feeds that part of our hearts that says, "more, more, me, me..." and forgets what God has already given and blessed us with. Coveting makes it really hard to be content and appreciate what you already have. It takes your eyes off of God and his desire for us and sets our eyes on ourselves instead. Contentment is the counter to coveting, and contentment is hard to learn, hard to embrace when all around you the mantra is to work harder to get more, to get more because you deserve it.
So how do you practice contentment, or do you think it's rather foolish and simply an excuse for lazy people to slack off? Personally, the more I work at keeping my focus on God and what I already have, the more I'm experiencing contentment and God's joy and happiness in the family, work and things I have, and the more I want to be a blessing to others. Try it, it's life changing!
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
making sure justice works
As I sit here writing this, my province is once again home to people banging pots trying to intimidate the government to bow to one group of citizens over the province as a whole. Now to be honest, it's not a clear cut issue as the government has placed itself in this position of having to go back on work contracts signed in the past. But the workers themselves hurt their own cause by storming into the council chambers of our city, trying to disrupt the work of the city councilors and intimidating them through a show of force.
This reminded me of the principle behind the "don't bear false witness" commandment. We too often make it too small by restricting it to telling our children not to lie, but the whole thought behind the command is that people need to be honest in order for justice to happen and for our civil society to be trusted by its citizens. We need to think bigger than that when we look at hos God is calling us to live with each other here. Intimidation tactics, whether in city hall, in parliament or in the church creates distrust among regular people; forcing through laws or rules without proper negotiation or consultation is an abuse of power which also creates distrust in the leaders, whether in city hall, parliament or the church council. Neither respects the others, both create distrust and weaken the society they profess to care about and say they want to protect and grow.
In the 10 Commandments, God is giving his people a way of living together based on respect and honesty, especially in this commandment to not bear false witness. God has created us all in his image and he desires that his people live this out in their relationships with each other. In God's society, it's not about taking what we can get for ourselves and always fighting for every last dollar, it's about creating a society where people take care of each other and work towards creating health, trust and a sense of belonging for all those who live among the people of God. Take a look at the regulations God put into place about aliens and foreigners and you see grace and welcome.
How can you, how can we work together to create a church that models justice, trust and health together so that our society can get a glimpse of what God's kingdom is all about?
This reminded me of the principle behind the "don't bear false witness" commandment. We too often make it too small by restricting it to telling our children not to lie, but the whole thought behind the command is that people need to be honest in order for justice to happen and for our civil society to be trusted by its citizens. We need to think bigger than that when we look at hos God is calling us to live with each other here. Intimidation tactics, whether in city hall, in parliament or in the church creates distrust among regular people; forcing through laws or rules without proper negotiation or consultation is an abuse of power which also creates distrust in the leaders, whether in city hall, parliament or the church council. Neither respects the others, both create distrust and weaken the society they profess to care about and say they want to protect and grow.
In the 10 Commandments, God is giving his people a way of living together based on respect and honesty, especially in this commandment to not bear false witness. God has created us all in his image and he desires that his people live this out in their relationships with each other. In God's society, it's not about taking what we can get for ourselves and always fighting for every last dollar, it's about creating a society where people take care of each other and work towards creating health, trust and a sense of belonging for all those who live among the people of God. Take a look at the regulations God put into place about aliens and foreigners and you see grace and welcome.
How can you, how can we work together to create a church that models justice, trust and health together so that our society can get a glimpse of what God's kingdom is all about?
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
What's yours is yours, especially your name
I taught a class a while ago on the commandment about stealing. Now just to be clear, I was against stealing, after all, what is yours should be yours. But I was amazed as I did some research on this command that the early church wasn't all that concerned in this command about stuff, but instead they were more concerned about someone stealing another person's good name through gossip or slander. Now I had always associated gossip and slander with the not giving false testimony command, but I was wrong. When I was a young man, my father took me aside and told me, "I don't have much to give you as we are not wealthy, but I've worked hard to make sure that I could give you a name that is filled with honour. This is the best gift I can give you, hang onto it with pride and keep it valuable for your children." It's something I've taken to heart, not just for my children, but also because I call myself a Jesus follower and know that in the eyes of our world today, my name also reflects on him.
As I thought about this angle that stealing here is about a person's name and reputation, I was convinced that these previous thinkers are onto something, especially as I thought about an incident a number of years back where someone accused me of doing something wrong but never spoke to me, but simply told a number of people in our faith community. As a pastor, my reputation is important, not just for myself, but for the church and my family. Now after the elders did an investigation, it was found that the accusations were false and based in anger over something else, but needless to say, I was shook up, as well as my family and friends. As a fellow pastor mentioned, it's something we face, but it's never a pleasant experience and there are always people who want to believe the worst about others no matter what.
Gossip is not a harmless past time and it reflects on what is going on in the person's heart; that there is a spirit of bitterness or anger inside that comes out in the telling of stories that belittle or hurt others. It's made me appreciate Paul's words to encourage and build up others because that comes out of the love Jesus calls us to, and makes the church family a safe and beautiful place to belong to and a reflection of the kingdom Jesus is ushering in.
May your words be words that bless rather than hurt.
As I thought about this angle that stealing here is about a person's name and reputation, I was convinced that these previous thinkers are onto something, especially as I thought about an incident a number of years back where someone accused me of doing something wrong but never spoke to me, but simply told a number of people in our faith community. As a pastor, my reputation is important, not just for myself, but for the church and my family. Now after the elders did an investigation, it was found that the accusations were false and based in anger over something else, but needless to say, I was shook up, as well as my family and friends. As a fellow pastor mentioned, it's something we face, but it's never a pleasant experience and there are always people who want to believe the worst about others no matter what.
Gossip is not a harmless past time and it reflects on what is going on in the person's heart; that there is a spirit of bitterness or anger inside that comes out in the telling of stories that belittle or hurt others. It's made me appreciate Paul's words to encourage and build up others because that comes out of the love Jesus calls us to, and makes the church family a safe and beautiful place to belong to and a reflection of the kingdom Jesus is ushering in.
May your words be words that bless rather than hurt.
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
Purity
As a pastor, I have been often asked why the church and Bible seems so preoccupied with sex, whether premarital or homosexuality. I normally tell the person asking me that they are the ones bringing it up, not me so they seem to be more preoccupied with it than I am. Yet they have hit on an important part of what it is to be a follower of Jesus; purity. Now purity is considered really important when it comes to things like drinking water or our food supply since no one wants to get sick. And no bride wants a gold ring that is not pure gold with a real diamond instead of imitation, at least my wife didn't; she wanted the real thing as a sign of my love and commitment to her.
Purity is about being as close to the absolute realness of what the object is as possible. So there are restrictions on how many impurities can be in our water supply, our food is monitored so that there is as few bug parts and other unwanted elements in it so we can eat without fear.
So when it comes to being a follower of Jesus, purity, or holiness is about being the person God has created you to be. It's not all about sex or sexual identity, it's about a whole bunch to things that make us who we are. Reading through Jesus' teaching, it's about cultivating grace, forgiveness, generosity, joy, self-control, kindness, a gentle tongue, compassion, and more. The goal is that when people see you, they see an image of who Jesus is; that image of God that got twisted when Adam and Eve sinned.
I believe that the focus on sex and sexuality as the defining aspect of purity comes because as a culture we worship our individuality and the seeking of pleasure above everything else. Our mission statement too often has become, "If it feels good, do it." The sad thing is that this is so self-focused and many don't realize the hurt and brokenness that such a mission statement creates. We live in a time when the ability to communicate and relate to others has never been higher and yet the common complaint I hear from all ages is, "I'm lonely." Over time, when a number of relationships have failed, or the relationship they're in fills up with stress and hurt, they come asking what is wrong and why.
This is when I get to talk with them about who they have made themselves into as a person and the results of it. Then I offer them the opportunity to become who they have been created to be. All it takes is to really accept Jesus as Lord, meaning that you place Him in the position of authority of your life and you shape your life on who He is calling you to be as His disciple. Almost without fail, you will discover joy, peace and hope, but you will also discover God's wisdom in how our relationships should be with each other. Purity in our thoughts and actions creates trust and strength leading to the ability to be more open and deep with others because the focus is on the other instead of the self. This is why God made a commandment against adultery, giving us the gift of marriage, a relationship where we are able to experience the beauty and depth of commitment where the focus is on the other and helping them to become the person God has created them to be. Purity, not only in sex, but in who you are becoming, is the command God gives you so that you can experience life as full and deep and blessed.
Purity is about being as close to the absolute realness of what the object is as possible. So there are restrictions on how many impurities can be in our water supply, our food is monitored so that there is as few bug parts and other unwanted elements in it so we can eat without fear.
So when it comes to being a follower of Jesus, purity, or holiness is about being the person God has created you to be. It's not all about sex or sexual identity, it's about a whole bunch to things that make us who we are. Reading through Jesus' teaching, it's about cultivating grace, forgiveness, generosity, joy, self-control, kindness, a gentle tongue, compassion, and more. The goal is that when people see you, they see an image of who Jesus is; that image of God that got twisted when Adam and Eve sinned.
I believe that the focus on sex and sexuality as the defining aspect of purity comes because as a culture we worship our individuality and the seeking of pleasure above everything else. Our mission statement too often has become, "If it feels good, do it." The sad thing is that this is so self-focused and many don't realize the hurt and brokenness that such a mission statement creates. We live in a time when the ability to communicate and relate to others has never been higher and yet the common complaint I hear from all ages is, "I'm lonely." Over time, when a number of relationships have failed, or the relationship they're in fills up with stress and hurt, they come asking what is wrong and why.
This is when I get to talk with them about who they have made themselves into as a person and the results of it. Then I offer them the opportunity to become who they have been created to be. All it takes is to really accept Jesus as Lord, meaning that you place Him in the position of authority of your life and you shape your life on who He is calling you to be as His disciple. Almost without fail, you will discover joy, peace and hope, but you will also discover God's wisdom in how our relationships should be with each other. Purity in our thoughts and actions creates trust and strength leading to the ability to be more open and deep with others because the focus is on the other instead of the self. This is why God made a commandment against adultery, giving us the gift of marriage, a relationship where we are able to experience the beauty and depth of commitment where the focus is on the other and helping them to become the person God has created them to be. Purity, not only in sex, but in who you are becoming, is the command God gives you so that you can experience life as full and deep and blessed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)