I recently went to see an old friend’s band play. When I got to the venue it was a church that was having some sort of youth rally. Chris and I walked in as they were doing some worship music. I was enjoying sitting back watching people worship, then someone started talking and it went downhill fast. It was completely an emotion driven time. He started chanting ‘Amen’ when I thought he was going to say something meaty, but that might have killed the emotion. When he did start talking it was all about YOU! It was a lot of really good partial truth, but it lacked any foundation or solidarity. He skipped over any reason for our faith or new life—things like our sin and depravity, or the death of Christ—and went straight to Christ is risen and we’re going to change the world, yay! No one is perfect but God still loves us, praise Jesus, yay! This is the gist of what he said but he took 5 minutes to say it in a sort of whispered and excited way to continue the emotional experience. Chris looked at me and said “that’s not the gospel.” There was more talk of how its all about being good people and changing the world because people will see God in YOU! Your generation and the gospel depend on YOU! YOU have to get rid of sin in your life or the gospel will die. There was nothing about how wretched we are without Christ, nothing about how Christ took our penalty, nothing about a regenerated heart, nothing about any reason to live for Christ other than an emotional pep rally that got some kids so intoxicated with emotion that they were jumping up and down shouting.
The band was there to provide music and a good atmosphere which they did well, but when it came to the speaking, it was totally a me focused gospel that sets people up for a twisted Christianity, an over inflated view of self and a small view of God.
It saddened me that these kids were being fed such a partial gospel. It was about having all the goodies of the Christian faith: forgiveness, freedom, and a ticket to heaven. But for some reason its OK to skip all the groundwork and the hard parts like humility, sanctification, and suffering.
I don’t say this to bash anyone but that it was eye opening for me and gives me a reminder to check myself and to make sure the gospel in my life is focused on Him and not me. Its so easy and comfortable to fall into thinking that this life, even my Christian walk is about us…its not! Any good in my life is a result of His grace and Him putting a new heart in me.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
Is it about life or is it about death?
Is the Christian walk about life or is it about death? Well I must very confidently say Yes! Last week as I prepared to speak to the college class I thought I was going to talk about death: dying to self, putting to death the flesh, and the like. The more I studied I found a lot less about this topic than I thought. As I read Romans, Philippians, Hebrews, Ephesians, Ezekiel I found more about living with Christ, walking in the Spirit, and sanctification. Previously, somewhere subconsciously my focus was to not sin, enabling me to walk closer to Christ; that sounds good right? The problem is that it puts the focus on me and what I'm doing and how I can better my walk with Christ. A very me focused gospel.
Ezekiel 36 sums up how my walk with Christ works. After 35 chapters of describing Isreal (us) as the whore of the nations, he says that for His glory He is going to wash us clean, put a new heart in us and make us desire Him, after which we will walk in His ways and obey Him and love Him and it will pain us to think of what we were and we will not want to sin against Him. None of this is because we are of any worth, but because He wants to glorify Himself through us! WOW.
Romans 6 and 8 flesh it out a little bit more saying that Christ has died for our sins, we were buried with Him and now we are dead to sin, we are Sons of God and alive in Christ Jesus! Paul says that if we are walking in the Spirit, we will put to death the deeds the flesh. Basically, I had it switched. My focus doesn't need to be putting the flesh to death, that's a very close secondary. My focus rather should be on living in and for Christ! The dying part has been done, my focus needs to be on LIVING for the one who did the dying for me and on walking in the Spirit. He enables me and gives me the desire to do so and as I walk in Him, I will naturally put to death the flesh. We call this sanctification, becoming more like Christ.
Why are we sanctified though? That's another huge can of theology for another day, but basically so that we can continue to spread the message of Jesus Christ. Our Sanctification is not about us, but rather like God said in Ezekiel: that it was for His honor and namesake.
So, its about death-the death of Christ! Then after washes us puts a new heart in us it is about life-life in and for Christ!
The death He died he died to sin once for all; but the life He lives He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer your body to him as an instrument of righteousness. Sin shall not be your master for you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:10-14
Ezekiel 36 sums up how my walk with Christ works. After 35 chapters of describing Isreal (us) as the whore of the nations, he says that for His glory He is going to wash us clean, put a new heart in us and make us desire Him, after which we will walk in His ways and obey Him and love Him and it will pain us to think of what we were and we will not want to sin against Him. None of this is because we are of any worth, but because He wants to glorify Himself through us! WOW.
Romans 6 and 8 flesh it out a little bit more saying that Christ has died for our sins, we were buried with Him and now we are dead to sin, we are Sons of God and alive in Christ Jesus! Paul says that if we are walking in the Spirit, we will put to death the deeds the flesh. Basically, I had it switched. My focus doesn't need to be putting the flesh to death, that's a very close secondary. My focus rather should be on living in and for Christ! The dying part has been done, my focus needs to be on LIVING for the one who did the dying for me and on walking in the Spirit. He enables me and gives me the desire to do so and as I walk in Him, I will naturally put to death the flesh. We call this sanctification, becoming more like Christ.
Why are we sanctified though? That's another huge can of theology for another day, but basically so that we can continue to spread the message of Jesus Christ. Our Sanctification is not about us, but rather like God said in Ezekiel: that it was for His honor and namesake.
So, its about death-the death of Christ! Then after washes us puts a new heart in us it is about life-life in and for Christ!
The death He died he died to sin once for all; but the life He lives He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer your body to him as an instrument of righteousness. Sin shall not be your master for you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:10-14
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Where Can I find Jesus? [Main St]
This week was a week full of abnormal interactions, starting with Jay, the 27 year old girl who was going through more suffering than I ever care to encounter. Most of these encounters occurred at the bookstore which is why I like that job so much. I encounter people from all walks of life with any and all kinds of “Christian” theology. Saturday I met a man who had previously been an evangelical, then a fundamentalist, and now after ‘being mentored by CS Lewis,’ has decided to be Catholic. I didn’t really want to talk to this man because while so easily swayed by man’s wisdom he seemed very dogmatic and un-swayed in what he thought to be truth. I asked him what made him change his thoughts on religion. He explained that it was after much reading. He read CS Lewis and many other reformed protestant theologians and somehow came to the conclusion they were all wrong in areas and decided he should become Catholic. This was a reminder to me that the wisdom of man, even wise men does not compare with the power of Scripture and sound doctrine. After taking in Scripture, the Holy Spirit gives knowledge and discernment so that we can approve what is excellent and true, making us pure and filling us with the fruit of righteousness; this only comes from God, not men.
Later the same day as the store was filled with people a man walked into the store wearing a large wooden cross around his neck and a large African smile on his face. Without even glancing around the store he came directly up to me and asked me in his cool South African accent “Where can I find Jesus?” I was caught completely off guard and my mind went completely blank wondering if this man was serious or not because he did not have the demeanor of a man that was really seeking what he was asking for. Being surprised at the question I nervously said that Jesus was in Heaven with the Father. He immediately followed with “Well, how can I find this father?” I asked if he was serious and he adamantly said “yes, I asked you a question for you to answer, so now you will give me an answer. You say Jesus is in Heaven with the Father. How can I find the father?” I quoted Jesus saying He was the only way to the father. The man fired back “Well how can I find Jesus?” Thinking I had just done some circular reasoning, I backed up and elaborated the simple Gospel of how we had sinned, messing up God’s perfect creation and Christ paid for that sin and we have to put our faith and trust in Him. It was such a weird conversation in which there were more pointed questions that I felt I should have had a better and more concise answer for. After a couple questions I was more relaxed and I felt it turned more into a casual conversation than a pop quiz that I wasn’t prepared for. I asked if I was adequately answering his questions and if he had a Bible that could more thoroughly answer his questions. He said I was the only scripture that he had at the moment and only I knew if I was giving him good answers. He said “You say are a Christian, you should know what the Bible says in order to answer my questions.” By this point a friend had joined in on the questioning and by his comments I gathered the man I had been talking to was a well read believer who was more or less probing to see what doctrine I believed. I wondered if I was part of a survey of some kind and if my answers were being recorded. The conversation deteriorated into questions like “Why do we sell books that contain heresy in them?” and “Which version of the bible is the ‘best’ of all the ones we sell?” At that point I had to welcome some other customers and help them find some fiction book, probably filled with bad theology in story form. The whole interaction with the man was very random and uncomfortable. I said goodbye and the men left the store without even browsing around. After uncomfortable situations I always think of how I could have better handled them or made them more comfortable. It made me wonder how ready am I to always give an answer for the faith I have; even when I’m not expecting it. I mused over the gospel again and again in my head throughout the rest of my shift.
After work I headed downtown to meet some friends visiting from out of town for dinner. I sat on a bench and read my email while I waited for them to get lost while driving around to find a parking garage. A less than privileged man approached me and introduced himself as Rick and sat down next to me. I gave him half my attention and continued to read my email. He said “I’m not racist, but you ‘white folks’ enjoy the expletive weekend.” Well, it did seem rather racist and I asked why he wasn’t enjoying his weekend. He rambled for a minute and then said he wasn’t gunna lie, he just wanted some money for a beer. I laughed at this point and said I liked his honesty and that most people who walk up to me like he did just give me some sob story and tell me they need gas money or money for food or something. We made small chat for another minute and I handed him the two dollars I had saying I liked his honesty. Since it was on my mind, I asked him if he knew Jesus. He said he did, and I asked him what that meant to him. He gave some Sunday school answer about how Jesus died for our sins; then he admitted it didn’t mean much to him. He asked why I was a Christian and I told him that after trying many things, Christ was the only thing that satisfied my soul and gave me joy. Then Rick surprised me again, he said “so if you died, you know for sure that you would go to heaven?” I thought the evangelizer was supposed to ask that question, but overall I was glad he brought it up. I confidently said I did, then asked him the same. He said he wasn’t sure what would happen. At this point Rick opened a window into his life. He explained that he was racing one night and lost control of his car and crashed. He ended up ok but the crash killed his 1 year old daughter. His family still hates him for it and will never forgive him. After that incident he went to church a lot and always tried to do good and even gave out literature for the church. After a while it didn’t seem to help and so he went back to his old way of life. I told him that God can forgive us for anything we have done and that God’s own son had paid for our sins and that it wasn’t anything we could do- good deeds or passing out literature- it was a gift! He asked if I still sinned. I laughed and said yes, but God has changed my desires and I don’t want to sin against Him. He said, “So you don’t want to have sex?” I laughed and said I do, but only with my wife, because that’s the way God set it up. After asking what I do when I sin, he said “So you can sin but its ok as long as you ask forgiveness each time?” I explained that it pains God when we sin and that He has given me a new heart with new desires and that I want to live to please God and act more like Jesus, living for others and not myself. By now I had a few missed calls, a voicemail and some text messages from my friends who had finally made their way into downtown, but I considered my conversation with Rick more pertinent. He wanted to let me go but asked that I pray for him. I said well let’s pray. As we sat there I prayed for him. I prayed that God would break into Rick’s life and show him Christ and forgiveness, that his family would be able to forgive him, that Rick would be able to forgive himself, and that God would change Rick’s heart, then ended asking that he would enjoy his weekend.
As I walked to meet my friends, I thanked God for the interaction He threw my way. The whole conversation flowed naturally and I could feel Gods presence. Although he didn’t pray, it was a great discussion about grace and forgiveness and what it meant to be a Christian. I knew that the awkward conversation I’d had in the bookstore had mentally prepared me for the casual one I had with Rick downtown. I thanked God for his providence and funny way of reminding me of the gospel and for the way he truly cares about people like Rick. Its only by His grace and changing my heart that I cared to listen. Rick wanted a beer; I wanted to talk about Jesus, something way better, so I did.
Later the same day as the store was filled with people a man walked into the store wearing a large wooden cross around his neck and a large African smile on his face. Without even glancing around the store he came directly up to me and asked me in his cool South African accent “Where can I find Jesus?” I was caught completely off guard and my mind went completely blank wondering if this man was serious or not because he did not have the demeanor of a man that was really seeking what he was asking for. Being surprised at the question I nervously said that Jesus was in Heaven with the Father. He immediately followed with “Well, how can I find this father?” I asked if he was serious and he adamantly said “yes, I asked you a question for you to answer, so now you will give me an answer. You say Jesus is in Heaven with the Father. How can I find the father?” I quoted Jesus saying He was the only way to the father. The man fired back “Well how can I find Jesus?” Thinking I had just done some circular reasoning, I backed up and elaborated the simple Gospel of how we had sinned, messing up God’s perfect creation and Christ paid for that sin and we have to put our faith and trust in Him. It was such a weird conversation in which there were more pointed questions that I felt I should have had a better and more concise answer for. After a couple questions I was more relaxed and I felt it turned more into a casual conversation than a pop quiz that I wasn’t prepared for. I asked if I was adequately answering his questions and if he had a Bible that could more thoroughly answer his questions. He said I was the only scripture that he had at the moment and only I knew if I was giving him good answers. He said “You say are a Christian, you should know what the Bible says in order to answer my questions.” By this point a friend had joined in on the questioning and by his comments I gathered the man I had been talking to was a well read believer who was more or less probing to see what doctrine I believed. I wondered if I was part of a survey of some kind and if my answers were being recorded. The conversation deteriorated into questions like “Why do we sell books that contain heresy in them?” and “Which version of the bible is the ‘best’ of all the ones we sell?” At that point I had to welcome some other customers and help them find some fiction book, probably filled with bad theology in story form. The whole interaction with the man was very random and uncomfortable. I said goodbye and the men left the store without even browsing around. After uncomfortable situations I always think of how I could have better handled them or made them more comfortable. It made me wonder how ready am I to always give an answer for the faith I have; even when I’m not expecting it. I mused over the gospel again and again in my head throughout the rest of my shift.
After work I headed downtown to meet some friends visiting from out of town for dinner. I sat on a bench and read my email while I waited for them to get lost while driving around to find a parking garage. A less than privileged man approached me and introduced himself as Rick and sat down next to me. I gave him half my attention and continued to read my email. He said “I’m not racist, but you ‘white folks’ enjoy the expletive weekend.” Well, it did seem rather racist and I asked why he wasn’t enjoying his weekend. He rambled for a minute and then said he wasn’t gunna lie, he just wanted some money for a beer. I laughed at this point and said I liked his honesty and that most people who walk up to me like he did just give me some sob story and tell me they need gas money or money for food or something. We made small chat for another minute and I handed him the two dollars I had saying I liked his honesty. Since it was on my mind, I asked him if he knew Jesus. He said he did, and I asked him what that meant to him. He gave some Sunday school answer about how Jesus died for our sins; then he admitted it didn’t mean much to him. He asked why I was a Christian and I told him that after trying many things, Christ was the only thing that satisfied my soul and gave me joy. Then Rick surprised me again, he said “so if you died, you know for sure that you would go to heaven?” I thought the evangelizer was supposed to ask that question, but overall I was glad he brought it up. I confidently said I did, then asked him the same. He said he wasn’t sure what would happen. At this point Rick opened a window into his life. He explained that he was racing one night and lost control of his car and crashed. He ended up ok but the crash killed his 1 year old daughter. His family still hates him for it and will never forgive him. After that incident he went to church a lot and always tried to do good and even gave out literature for the church. After a while it didn’t seem to help and so he went back to his old way of life. I told him that God can forgive us for anything we have done and that God’s own son had paid for our sins and that it wasn’t anything we could do- good deeds or passing out literature- it was a gift! He asked if I still sinned. I laughed and said yes, but God has changed my desires and I don’t want to sin against Him. He said, “So you don’t want to have sex?” I laughed and said I do, but only with my wife, because that’s the way God set it up. After asking what I do when I sin, he said “So you can sin but its ok as long as you ask forgiveness each time?” I explained that it pains God when we sin and that He has given me a new heart with new desires and that I want to live to please God and act more like Jesus, living for others and not myself. By now I had a few missed calls, a voicemail and some text messages from my friends who had finally made their way into downtown, but I considered my conversation with Rick more pertinent. He wanted to let me go but asked that I pray for him. I said well let’s pray. As we sat there I prayed for him. I prayed that God would break into Rick’s life and show him Christ and forgiveness, that his family would be able to forgive him, that Rick would be able to forgive himself, and that God would change Rick’s heart, then ended asking that he would enjoy his weekend.
As I walked to meet my friends, I thanked God for the interaction He threw my way. The whole conversation flowed naturally and I could feel Gods presence. Although he didn’t pray, it was a great discussion about grace and forgiveness and what it meant to be a Christian. I knew that the awkward conversation I’d had in the bookstore had mentally prepared me for the casual one I had with Rick downtown. I thanked God for his providence and funny way of reminding me of the gospel and for the way he truly cares about people like Rick. Its only by His grace and changing my heart that I cared to listen. Rick wanted a beer; I wanted to talk about Jesus, something way better, so I did.
I am not acquainted with suffering
A girl walked into the bookstore today, talking on her phone; she seemed aggravated, flustered, and very humble. She was discussing how someone had wronged her. This person was on parole and if she wanted to be vindictive she could turn them in for something or other and get them put back in jail but “that’s not me” she said. She also said a couple of times how no one had offered to help her.
When she got off the phone she looked very downcast and she asked me if I had anything that could encourage her. I said “how about a hug?” I gave her a hug and that put a smile on her face and she thanked me. She said she was looking for a book to help her through a rough time and that she had a lot of things going on. Another customer asked what was going on and she started a long list of things I have never experienced first or second hand. She put on a small smile, happy that someone was showing interest in her life, and fighting tears she slowly said “I may have ovarian cancer, I got kicked out of my house, my 3 kids and fiancé and I are living in a hotel, I almost lost my job, I have a few other health issues” she said some other things I don’t remember, but she was obviously in a hard spot and suffering. She mentioned she was only 27. I could see scars on her arms; I don’t know if they were from abuse or just a hard life. I did not know what to say… The gentleman that had asked the probing question asked if she knew Jesus. She said she was “born in church, but had been away from it for a long time.” He said something about knowing what it what it was like to go through some crappy situations; he then asked if he could pray for her. Right there in the store with customers all around he held her hand and started praying in a normal volume like he was talking to a friend. He prayed for what seemed a couple minutes that God would see her and help her and encourage her and that she would find joy and love and peace in Him. The whole time I’m thinking, “Why didn’t you think of that, Bryan?” and “What book can I offer her that will help her in her situation?” When he was done praying he reached down and handed her the last copy of a Rick Warren book saying that it helped him a lot when he was dealing with some tough times and that it would bless her and encourage her. I don’t doubt it was providence that he just happened to be standing there by that exact book as she walked in and started talking to us. She asked me if I had any books on marriage saying she and her fiancé wanted to grow closer to one another. All I could do was show her a section of books filled with marriage advice, half of it probably common sense or unhelpful fluff. She picked out two and asked which one I thought was better…I had no idea, I haven’t read any books on marriage. She chose one, but the other one sounded good too so I gave it to her and paid for it myself later. I told her to tell me which one she thought was better after she read them.
During this interaction I had two thoughts, the first of which I hated more than the other, but I hated them both. The first was a self-righteous upper middle class bias that was engrained in me somewhere in my upbringing; probably through hearing snide comments toward the homeless, the poor, or the hurting. Knowing it was only a half truth as I thought it, I thought “you are where you are because of the decisions you have made.” True or not, you are where you are, and sometimes that sucks and you need some help to get out. Secondly, I thought, “I have no idea what this girl is going through, or how to really help her.” I was glad that other gentleman was in the store and at least in word sympathized with her and had the boldness to pray for her and ask her if she knew Jesus, the only One who could really help her. I thanked him twice before he left the store, and thanked God many more times for his interaction. The only thing I knew to do for the girl was pray for her and give her that other book as an act of kindness. As her credit card was processing I jotted a quick note to her saying I would continue to pray for her. I meant it, and I will. As she left I told her that I would pray for her and that I hoped things would get better. She smiled but…I still felt like I wasn’t doing anything to help her.
Later I kicked myself for not recommending the Psalms or even probing deeper about her relationship with Christ. How could I be so unhelpful and timid about speaking up?
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