7/31/2007

God is the Sufferer

In reading the story of the prodigal son most people are impressed with all the troubles the prodigal meets; they are occupied in thinking what a bad time he is having. But that is not the point of the parable. “My son... was lost, and is found”—there is the heart of the story. It is not a question of what the son suffers but of what the Father loses. He is the sufferer; He is the loser. A sheep is lost: whose is the loss? The shepherd’s. A coin is lost: whose is the loss? The woman’s. A son is lost: whose is the loss? The Father’s. That is the lesson of Luke chapter 15. -Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life
I came across this quote yesterday and thought it's pretty amazing. It's hard for me to say God needs me, and that God is the one that has the biggest loss over a sinner. It's hard for me to see God rejoicing over a sinner passing from death to life more than the sinner himself rejoices. But I can't argue with the logic here. It goes against all my human instincts, but maybe it's true...

7/30/2007

Sexual Immorality

Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. -Act 15:19-20

"For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell." -Act 15:28-29

After a recent conversation about sexual immorality, I thought these passages from my morning devotion were very appropriate. The comment was made "Christians put too much emphasis on sex." It wasn't terribly surprising for him to say that, as he is currently engaging in sexual immorality, so clearly he doesn't think it's wrong. But the fact of the matter is that Scripture does have a special place for sexual sin. When the Jewish believers were trying to decide whether Gentiles needed to obey the Mosaic Law, they concluded that avoiding sexual immorality (any sex outside of marriage) is more important than circumcision, tithing, fasting, etc. Surprisingly, "Do not murder" didn't make their list.

7/25/2007

Remembered Alms

And Cornelius said, "Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.' -Act 10:30-31

This verse strikes me as a very important verse in understanding the relationship between faith and good works. Let's list everything I observe here...

  1. Cornelius had at least an inkling of faith--enough to pray
  2. He prayed to the true God, not to a false god
  3. He gave to the poor, indicating he was devoted to what he knew
  4. God honored the faith and obedience he had
  5. His prayer and alms were not enough for salvation--he needed Paul to explain things to him

I'm sure the faith vs works debate will continue until the end of time, and I mean that literally. That's probably because one side of the debate sees the two as completely independent concepts, and the other sees them as too intricately united. Faith without works is dead.

7/24/2007

Rude People

Is it too much to ask that a person acknowledge your presence when you say "Hi"? Because of the expected hot and humid weather today, I got up early and took Mowgli for a run before work. I was trying to be friendly and greet my fellow lakers with a smile and "Good Morning." Most people responded...or were clearly wearing headphones and didn't hear me. But what excuse do people have for not even grunting when you know they heard me? It's not like I went to their house and rang the doorbell at 6:45 and expected them to be cheery. They were voluntarily walking around a lake. Maybe it's just that people are so unfriendly that they just don't know how to let out a little huff of air and say "hi." Even a grunt would have been better than the "you're not there; I don't see anybody; just pretending to be alone in a big city."

7/23/2007

Rain Righteousness

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. -Hos 10:12

This verse has completely changed my perspective on "Prosperity Preaching." I never believed in it before, but now I do. God wants us to prosper. He wants us to be incredibly blessed beyond what we ever imagined. The only thing is that He knows what true blessing is, and it's not money, fame, or power. True blessing is righteousness. We are so corrupt and perverse that we fail to see that the worst thing in the world is our sin that separates us from God, and the greatest thing in the world is His righteousness that unites us with Him and transforms us to be like Him.

7/17/2007

Fear and Goodness

Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days. -Hos 3:5
They are to fear the Lord even though they know his goodness. Knowing God's goodness does not cast out our fear. If we know the true God, we know he is an all consuming fire roaring like a lion...yet a merciful savior as gentle as a lamb. He is not one or the other, he is completely both.

Whoredom

When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD." -Hos 1:2

Isn't this a great way to open a book? Who doesn't want to read on from here? It's not because of our sick, perverted, oversexed culture that I say that. It's out of compassion, pity, and a sense of "What is God doing here?" that I want to read on. As a husband, I can't imagine what Hosea went through, not just marrying a promiscuous wife, but marrying a literal whore. He was commanded to have children...even though they probably weren't his. At least that's my understanding of "children of whoredom."

Why would God do such a thing to a person? Doesn't he love us and have a great purpose for our lives? Oddly enough, that's exactly why he does it. He is using marriage to show his tremendous faithfulness. The primary purpose of marriage is to reflect God's unfailing love for his people. In all our adulteries like Gomer, God is faithful like Hosea.

7/16/2007

Gomer and Knee

Where does the time go? Has it really been 12 days since my last post? Sorry to my loyal readers--both of you :)

I read a good passage today that I wanted to share, but it's one I don't want to post while I'm at work. There are certain words frequently used to describe Hosea's wife that don't look good to the sniffers. No sense getting fired over my blog.

An update on my knee... It's doing much better. I know it's still a little tender, and I'm babying it a little, but not too much. I went for a 52 mile ride on Saturday and a 3 mile run Sunday, and it still felt good enough to ride to work this morning. I'm still shying away from hills and speed work, but a nice steady pace seems to be OK.

7/04/2007

Excerpts from "A Hunger for God" - Introduction

The discipline of self-denial is fraught with dangers--perhaps only surpassed by the dangers of indulgence.

The weakness of our hunger for God is not because he is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with "other things."Between the dangers of self-denial and self-indulgence there is a path of pleasant pain.

Know God and Take Action

He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. -Dan 11:32
Two thing:

  1. The only way to resist the Antichrist is by knowing God. It doesn't say praying a pray, or going to church, or wearing prayer boxes. We must know God. This is done through prayer, study of his word, obedience to what his word says, fasting, meditating on his word, and seeking him. I often wonder whether I truly know my God. Of course there's a lot more to know, but do I know him at all? I think I do. I know his deep wrath and his tender mercy. I know the fear of the Lord, yet I also know his love. I know how he treated sinful Israel, and how he treated the adulterous woman. How do I come to know him more? Probably by giving up the thing I love so much, food, and seeking him. That's what Daniel did, and it sure seemed to work. "Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes" (9:3).
  2. These saints don't just sit back and let things happen; they "stand firm and take action." The standing firm is the easy part for passive people like me (not that I'm even good at that). But action, ummm, that's a lot harder. Of course, this all goes back to point number 1. The more I know God, the more desire I will have to glorify him, to obey him, to stand firm to who he is, and to act in his will.

7/03/2007

The Right Thing

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. -Jam 4:17

This is a hard verse for us anti-postmodern people. Is this verse saying that there is no such thing as objective sin? Is it saying what's right for me isn't necessarily what's right for you?

On some level, I think at least the last question is true. More accurately, this verse is saying what's wrong for me isn't necessarily what's wrong for you. There are clear objective sins--lying, stealing, murder--but there are other sins, sins of omission that are more subjective. The reason for this is that we have different callings.

If God is calling me to quit my job and move to Zaire, but I don't, then I'm sinning. If God is calling you to stay at your job and serve your coworkers, but you move to Zaire....well you're sinning. But at the same time, if God hasn't given you a clear call, and you don't know exactly what he's saying...then stay at your job or move to Zaire and this verse doesn't condemn you.

Anyway, how does this affect me? My (admittedly sparse) posts lately have been mostly head knowledgy with little heart. My Bible study and walk with the Lord have been quite dry for a few months, largely due to a lack of application. I've been reading the Word with more of a scholar's attitude than with a broken sinner's attitude. I've been seeking insights into deep truths rather than insights into deep sins.

So back to the point, how does this affect me? Well, how about if I take this verse at face value, and in the dozen times during the day when I think "I should..." I actually do it. I wish I could think of a specific application, but I can't, so I'll leave it at that. Lord, reveal areas where I don't do the good I know you want me to do.

7/02/2007

14,000 Dead Babies

I just heard that 14,000 babies were killed by abortion in Minnesota last year.

  • That's 38 per day
  • That's 15 times the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq in 2006 (933 according to http://icasualties.org/oif/)...but which gets news coverage?
  • Assuming this number is approximately constant over the last 30 years (my age)...that means 420,000 Minnesota babies have been killed since I was born.  That's more than the population of Minneapolis.
  • At roughly $200 per abortion, that makes this a $2.8M industry...in Minnesota alone.

NPR and Air America

What's the difference between NPR and Air America?  I started listening to NPR a couple days ago...don't remember exactly why, but probably because I was tired of the same 4 songs being played on the music stations, and was tired of the same old stuff on the other talk stations.  I've listened to Air America probably twice as much as NPR, so I think I'm definitely an expert on discussing the differences.

  1. NPR has fewer commercials.
  2. NPR tries to bore its listeners to death, but Air America tries to yell and scream to prove its point
  3. NPR likes British accents, but Air America prefers New York or North Dakota people
  4. NPR pretends to cover the other point of view.  Air America yells at the other point of view.
  5. NPR interviews scientists who agree with its view.  Air America lets unscreened people call in and prove their stupidity on national radio
  6. Air America is honest enough to admit its political leanings, but NPR pretends to be neutral
  7. Air America is bankrupt.  NPR stays afloat from taxpayer money.
  8. NPR is on FM radio.  Air America is AM, so it gets all the crackliness from thunderstorms and driving under overpasses
  9. Air America is entertaining for a few minutes.  NPR can bore you to death for hours.

7/01/2007

Condemning God

Will you even put me in the wrong? Will you condemn me that you may be in the right? -Job 40:8

In God's rebuke of Job, he accuses Job of "condemning" God. We humans love to put God in the wrong and condemn him. Most of the time we don't do it intentionally, it's just the unrealized foundation for our arguments and questions. Who hasn't heard someone say "I could never believe in a God who sends people to Hell"? Or "Why does God allow so much suffering in the world?" "Why did God take my baby?" "Why didn't God save my marriage?" "Why am I still single?" And all natural disasters are called "acts of God."

Whenever things aren't going how we want them to, we blame God. It's not just that we attribute things to him, but we blame him. We condemn him. We say, "I know better than God, and this is bad. God is wrong."

We should be like Job. We should say, "I am sad, distraught, in pain, etc.," but we should not curse God. Was God evil for what happened in Job's life? No! When we know the full story of Satan's involvement, the glory God received by Job's response, the blessing Job received in the end, we know God is good.