Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Materialism: a Blindspot in Christianity Today

Regarding Christian wealth and affluence in the midst of our poverty-stricken world, consider the following quote by a pastor whom I greatly, greatly respect:


There is no difference "between someone who willfully indulges in sexual pleasures while ignoring the Bible's teachings on moral purity and someone who willfully indulges in the selfish pursuit of more and more material possessions while ignoring the Bible's teachings on caring for the poor."

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Amount and The Purpose of Our Abundance

Consider the following quote from economist Robert Heilbroner. He describes the luxuries that a typical American family would lose if they lived among the one billion destitute and hungry people in poverty-stricken India:

We begin by invading the house of our imaginary American family to strip it of its furniture. Everything  goes: beds, chairs, tables, television sets, lamps. We will leave the family with a few old blankets, a kitchen table, and a wooden chair. Along with the bureaus go the clothes. Each member of the family may keep in one wardrobe his one oldest suit or dress and a shirt or blouse. We will permit a pair of shoes for the head of the family, but none for the wife or children.
We move to the kitchen. The appliances have already been taken out, so we turn to the cupboards... The box of matches may stay, a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt. A few moldy potatoes, already in the garbage can, must be rescued because they will provide much of tonight's meal. We will leave a handful of onions and a dish of dried beans. All the rest we take away: the meat, the fresh vegetables, the canned goods, the crackers, the candy.
The bathroom must be dismantled, the running water shut off, the electric wires taken out. 
Next we take away the house. The family can move to the tool shed.... Communications must go next. No more newspaper or books - not that they are missed, since we must take away the family's literacy as well. In our shack we will allow one radio
 Now government servies must go next. No more postmen, no more firemen. There is a school, but it is three miles away and consists of two classrooms... There are, of course, no hospitals or doctors nearby. The nearest clinic is ten miles away and is tended by a midwife. It can be reached by bicycle, provided the family has a bicycle, which is unlikely...
Finally, money. We will allow our family a large cash hoard of five dollars.

We live in America. Whether upper class or lower class, we have all been born into privilege. We have so much while others have so little. And with this abundance and privilege, I am seeing, comes responsibility. What should be my response to the unearned favors that fill my life?

Through scripture, it seems that God gives only one correct response to abundance: sharing.
God gives some people more than they need so that they can be channels of blessing to others. The Bible commands that all believers show love for the needy all over the world. A very large portion of those needy brethren right now are in Asia and India. The wealthy brethren are in the United States, Canada, and a few other nations. The conclusion, it seems, (according to 2 Corinthians 8:13-14, 1 John 3:14, 17-18, and James 2:14-17) is this: The affluent believers must share with the poorer churches.

Nick and I have not been doing this. We have, in fact, been completely ignorant to the needs of the world around us. 

But now - we're aware. 

I'm praying we'll be obedient with the knowledge we now have. 
Certainly, it won't be comfortable. But it will be necessary.

Friday, April 22, 2011

My Epiphany On Beauty...

Several weeks ago I posted a blog about how my body was doing crazy stuff and how I was gaining weight despite a very careful and healthy diet and the most intense workout program I've ever participated in. Well, as I continue in that 6 day/week exercise program and as my body continues in a number of ways to be very abnormal, God continues to work with me and convict me about the foolishness of worrying over my physical body and weight.

This week I studied Isaiah 60 pretty extensively. Though this is a chapter that literally prophesies about the future Kingdom of Christ and God's promises to Israel, God showed me great personal application regarding the concept of the physical man vs. the spiritual man. I hope what He has shown me will convict, enlighten, and challenge you as well.

Throughout Isaiah 60, the people of Israel are told that the "light," the "glory," the "brightness, " and the "splendor" of the Lord was upon. Because of this all the nations of the earth would proclaim the praise of the Lord and honor the Holy One of Israel. Because of the presence of God within them and upon them, the entire world would be drawn to them and to the living God. What splendid beauty these people must possess to be that influential and that attractive!

Then it occurred to me - this is how I am to live. I am to allow the light, the glory, and the splendor of the Lord to so radiate through me that I possess the truest and most powerful form of beauty everywhere I go. Not the beauty of the most stylish clothes or the most chiseled figure or the most clear complexion - but the most beautiful beauty of all: that which flows from a heart overflowing with love and obedience to Jesus. When I pursue and emphasize the cultivation of this sort of spiritual beauty in my life, I will be most capable of attracting others to the Holy One of Israel. When I focus on allowing His splendor to fill me rather than focusing on the external shape or condition of my body, others will see Him in me and be captivated by His beauty. They will see and want the radiance that I have. They will be drawn to Christ.

I must come out from under the deception that my physical body is worthy of such worry and such attention that I neglect the constant growth of my spiritual beauty.

I have been created for the display of the Lord's splendor (Isaiah 60:21). To wish for the display of personal physical beauty more than the influential beauty of His indwelling Holy Spirit is wrong.

I am awake and alert.
Alert to the enemy who would have me to focus on me.
Alert to the system of the world which tells me the lie that physical beauty is, above all things, prized.

I am ready to lay down the emphasis and worry that I've given to my physical body. It will do what it will do. God is sovereign over my body, and I need not concern myself with such temporal matters.

I will instead embrace Isaiah's command:
"Arise, shine, for your light has come... the glory of the Lord rises upon you... the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you... He has endowed you with splendor."
Isaiah 60:1, 2b, 9b

Monday, April 18, 2011

DO The Good You Ought To Do

James 4:17 says,
"Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

I am stunned anew by the amount of sin in my life; by how far I am missing the mark of what God has commanded of me as His follower. Below is a list of "good" things that the Bible very very clearly lays-out I am to be doing. In carefully reviewing and chewing on each good act, I must honestly admit that I have not been doing these things very well. Because my life has been too full of self-centeredness and "more pressing issues." I have known the good I ought to be doing, but I have not been fully doing it. 
I have been in sin.

Review this list with me:

Share your food with the hungry (Isaiah 58:7, Proverbs 22:9, Acts 20:35)

Provide the homeless with shelter (Isaiah 58:7, Matthew 6:2, Proverbs 19:17)

Work to alleviate the needs of the poor and the oppressed (Isaiah 58:10, Matt 6:2, Ps 82:3, Prov 21:13)

Bless and pray for anyone who mistreats or does evil against you. (Matthew 6:39-42, 44)

Use your time and your money to gain eternal treasures. (Matthew 6:19-24, 2 Corinthians 8, Luke 12:33)

Speak "only" what is helpful for building others up. (Ephesians 5:29, Ephesians 4:11)

Consider others as better than yourself. (1 Corinthians 10:24, Philippians 2:3-4)

Prioritize inner, spiritual beauty rather than vanity and physical beauty. (1 Peter 3:3-4)

Love the Lord with ALL your heart, ALL your soul, and ALL your strength. (Deut 6:5,10:12, Matt 22:37)


In considering all of these good works that are supposed to characterize my life, I have 3 main conclusions:

1) I must do better.
It is not enough to just avoid all the bad things. I need to also walk in the good things that are clearly commanded of me in the Bible. This will require self-denial - making the needs of others and the agenda of God more important than the issues of my own life. Jesus did not die just so I could have eternal life. He died so that I could be reconciled to God and therefore be an instrument of His love - through good works - to people in the world.

2) I need the filling of the Holy Spirit.
In my own strength and determination, I will not be able to be who God has called me to be. My only hope of impacting this world the way Christ has asked me to will be through the indwelling Holy Spirit who compels and empowers me to accomplish what I have neither the motivation or ability to do on my own.

3) I am so thankful for Jesus.
As much as my heart longs to be obedient to the Father by embracing a life of sacrificial good works, I know I will fail. I am human, I am sinful, and no matter how much I try, I will continue to fail. I will never live this life at a perfect level of holiness. Therefore, the blood of Jesus that covers my sin and my shortcoming is very, very valuable. Thank you, Jesus!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

God's Word As We Want It.....VS.....God's Word As It Is Written

As I have dug more and more into the Word, I have developed and carried an opinion for quite some time now:

We take verses out of context and then hold them in our hearts as "God's promises." 


We do this because it makes us feel better about ourselves. We do this and deceive ourselves into thinking that our lives are safely protected under the shadow of God's promises. This inaccurate assessment of scripture, however, keeps us from honestly assessing our lives, prevents us from recognizing the extent of our sin, and prevents us from understanding the amount of our own contribution to the troubles in our lives.

Here's a great example:

"My God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

How many of us have heard that verse many times?
I have! I have!

Well, if you read that verse in the entire context of Philippians chapter 4, one thing becomes incredibly clear:  The reason the Philippian church could have the assurance of God's rich provision of their needs was because they had first been very generous in giving to Paul during his times of need.
God blessed them as a result of their obedience to Him!

Look at the scriptures where Paul describe the Philippians' giving:
"It was good of you to share in my troubles..... not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessaloncia, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need..... I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.... They are...pleasing to God." Phil 4:14, 15b,16, 18

It was immediately after these verses summarizing the generosity of the Philippians that Paul assures them by saying, "My God will supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (4:19)

So, we see that this promise proclaiming God's rich provision of our needs cannot be claimed by any Christian any time. It can only be claimed be those Christians who are obediently supplying the needs of those around them. Ouch.

There you have it. One of my favorite examples of how we take scripture out of context and thereby miss its full power in our lives. The bible is full of widely-quoted and beloved verses that say "God will do such-and-such for you" or "God will be such-and-such to you." I dare you to look up some of those promises and see how many of them are dependent upon some sort of action on our part. Conditional upon whether or not we first fulfill our end of the bargain.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

India.....and hunky husbands!

WE ARE GOING TO INDIA!!!

Nick and I have decided that we will be joining our church's 8-man mission team to India this December. I am so excited. Excited at how God is stretching us beyond our comfort; excited at how the Holy Spirit is convicting us and changing the desires of our hearts; excited at how we are choosing to be obedient!

So........off we'll go the day after Christmas 2011.
Half way around the world.
To a culture and to a people who are billions in number and hopelessly lost.
We will join a husband and wife missionary team, believing that the investment of our time and energy will help to train and equip Indian believers to "go and make disciples" within their native culture.

We are going because we are choosing to believe that when Jesus said "Go into all the world," He meant it literally. And, we are going quite simply because my hunky husband said we would :).

I am so so so so so thankful for my husband. I am thankful for his conviction and his wisdom. I am thankful for his understanding of his responsibility as the leader of our marriage. I am thankful that he is aware of his need to cultivate his personal relationship with the Lord so that he will be the man that God has called him to be. I am thankful that he accepts the responsibility to walk in obedience to God's Word and that he realizes how that obedience, or the lack thereof, will effect me. He is far from perfect -as am I - but I see God's Spirit at work within him. That, friends, thrills me inside. When he clearly and calmly expressed to me his conviction that we should go on this mission trip to India - as we were standing over the sink washing dishes after dinner - I was........well, dern......I don't really know the appropriate emotion. It was just great. Really, really great. Nick is the best!

And so...... I thought I'd do a brag-on-your-husband blog today. After my group bible study this morning, I listened to my friend and pastor's wife warmly express her gratitude for her husband. It was beautiful! I love to hear women bragging on their men - especially in today's culture where belittling often leaves no room for bragging.

Whether or not his actions always seem deserving of your praise and respect, you can still choose to give these to your husband. If you are a wife with a hunky husband like me, I challenge you to leave a comment and tell me all about his greatness :).



Monday, April 4, 2011

His Sovereignty = My Security

I am so very, very thankful for the Sovereignty of God.

Webster's defines sovereign as:
-supreme power or authority
-fully independent and determining its own affairs
-possessing royal power or status

So, the God I serve - the God we serve - is absolutely ultimate and supreme in His authority. There is no rank or say-so above Him. He is completely unphased and unaffected by circumstance or situation. His purpose and His pleasure are the absolute only factors that play-into the affairs of this life. His status is supreme, and therefore none can influence Him. His power is, always has been, and always will be un-matched and un-touched. What He wills, is.

Hope and peace, deeper and more precious than I can express in words, are found in God's Sovereignty.
Possessing the knowledge of His full and unwaivering control is often my only source of security.

When we have done all that we can do,
When we have prayed all that we can pray,
When we have examined ourselves with confession and repentance,
When we have sought every reasonable solution...

...and still, nothing changes...

We can still have peace. We can still have hope. We can still have security.
Because He is Sovereign.