Within popular Christianity today there is one word that more often than not strikes fear into those who face it. This question makes the youth group teen quiver in embarrassment, makes the insecure mother respond with "Because I said so", and can get you dirty looks from the elderly section at church. The word I'm talking about is "Why?". Whether it be phrased as "Why do you believe in Jesus?" or "Why do bad things happen to good people?"
I can only speak from my own experience but in my church experience asking a question starting with "why" was taboo. If you did ask it was because you "lacked faith" or "doubted God". I think for too long this simple question has been ostracized to such a point that if you ask "Why" you have less faith than someone who just believes. The question I want to ask, ironically, is why?
In my experience most of the time the fear of the "Why" boils down to one of a two reasons:
1.) Ignorance-
When it comes to this fear one of the most common reasons people within the church fear the question "Why" is because they themselves do not know why. They simply are masking ignorance with the stupid, and in no way spiritual, blind faith. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us that we should always be ready to give a defense for the hope within us. Therefore it is not more spiritual or more trusting in God to not question, but rather is disobedient.
2.) Fear of not knowing all the answers-
While no good church person would tell you that they are afraid of the answers to these pressing questions. They worry that if they dig too far, they might just find out the are believing a lie. If this logic would be true, it is still faulty to continue to live in denial of the word "Why" because one would be dedicating their life to an elaborate lie. Luckily and beautifully for us as believers of Christ we need not fear the answers for we know the One who is the Truth, and the Author of all things Jesus Christ Himself!
Admittedly there are questions we don't have all the answers for... but news flash no one does. These unknowable answers shouldn't stop us from pursuing all the truth we can about Christ. Allow me to explain:
I have a wonderful, beautiful fiancee. One day we hope to have children. No matter how many questions I ask her about child birth I will never know what it is like to give birth (of which I'm very thankful Lord). However, just because I will never fully know the answer to that aspect of my fiancee doesn't mean that I shouldn't explore other truths about her such as her favorite flowers, or candy, or movies. If I didn't ask these questions to further explore what makes Sarah who she is, I would have a hard time loving her.
In the same way when we let the fear of not being able to answer all the questions stop us from asking them at all, we are not living a more faith filled life. Rather we are denying ourselves from knowing God on a much more intimate level.
Ultimately though the real damage for me comes in this: The one word the Church seems to want more than any to be erased from the "World's" dictionary is the one word the Church should be begging them to ask. For the question "Why" signifies a pursuit and probing for truth on the part of the questioner. So rather than shy away from this question we must redeem it, and use it to point people to the truth they are looking for: Jesus!
In order to do this though we must be willing to prayerfully engage the scriptures for ourselves and ask the tough questions believing that this pursuit of truth will lead us into a deeper devotion to Christ.
We must not take conventional tradition as truth but rather we must challenge it with the Scriptures and be willing to change if we are not in line. We must be willing to not settle for a blind faith, but rather be prepared to give a defense so that we are begging our friends and neighbors to ask us "Why?"
This is the goal of this humble servant of Christ, that in someway through this blog we can journey and ask these questions together allowing the truth of God's word to wash over us. That we would allow the Truth to trump tradition in our lives and churches. In this blog I will attempt to do just that, I would be thrilled if you would come along for the journey over these next few months!
For it's as the old hymn says "To love you is to want to know you more"
Friday, January 10, 2014
Monday, August 5, 2013
This is it?
I recently went on a family vacation to Savannah, Georgia and while it was a truly great time with some great people there was a moment that bears mentioning. It wasn't out of the ordinary, as a matter of fact if you were listening to the conversation you wouldn't have probably given it a second thought. But this moment like many others continues to remind me that the extraordinary often pierces through what we might classify as the ordinary.
The moment I'm talking about happened as we were arriving to our rental home for the weekend. We had seen pictures on the internet and thought that we would be staying in this super nice home that would suit 8 comfortably. When we arrived though we found something different than what we were expecting, for one we had to park our cars in a pretty sketchy ally and found that the house really only creatively comfortably housed 8 (The wonders of air mattresses). In this moment where our expectations were met face to face with the reality of our situation someone followed by a chorus of followers asked "Is this really it? This isn't what I was expecting."
I'm sure my family and I aren't the only ones to have this experience, I mean it could happen on a blind date (Tall, dark and handsome my butt), or a class (You want how many pages on that paper). Those moments of feeling deceived by a friend on the attractiveness of a peer or feeling over burdened by a professor can leave us feeling betrayed or drained.
While I don't mean to downplay the seriousness of those times, what I want to focus on is when those "Really??? This is it??" moments creep into our relationship with God. Those time where we find ourselves in a situation that may be incredibly painful, fear stricken or immersed with doubt and our temptation is to look at God and say " Really, Is this it?" One such man that found himself in that situation is John The Baptist.
In Matthew 11 John the Baptist finds himself in prison and while there sends a messenger to Jesus asking him " Are you the Coming One or do we look for another?" (Matt. 11:2) This question might seem outlandish or strange coming from John the Baptist but we have to realize that he found himself very much in a situation like this. The Jews had expected a political savior so in their mind when the Messiah came he would deliver them from under the thumb of the Romans. You see this at several points when the crowd would want to make Jesus king only for Him to retreat.
So John the Baptist found himself in an extremely difficult situation being in jail and not having his expectations of how God would work through His chosen Messiah met. How often do we find ourselves in this position, broken over our current situation and asking God why He isn't working the way we thought He would... even subtly finding ourselves asking "Is this really it? Are You really the One?"
Christ answers his question not with judgement but rather with a beautiful reminder:
“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor."
He responds to John's question by reminding him of how exactly He is at work in the present situation. He tells them of the healing He is bringing to those who are broken and lost. He shows John the Baptist that their expectation of a political agenda is so far inferior to His work of restoration.
I think when I humbly look at my life the moments where I most commonly want to ask "Is this it God? Are you really the One?" come when I'm more focused on my agenda rather than His will. I can just imagine Christ calling out to me saying "Dustin I pursued you when you were unlovely and rebellious, I delivered You, I have purchased you, I am redeeming you, I have presented you as blameless before my Father and am even now working in you to make that a present reality."
So my encouragement for myself and all of us is when we find ourselves in those situations where we want to cry out in confusion and frustration is to remind ourselves of two things.
1.) Remember that Christ cares more about redeeming that which is broken than He does keeping us comfortable.
2.) When tempted to ask what are You doing God, we must remind ourselves of all that He has already done for us in the Gospel through Jesus.
The reason these can bring us comfort in those hard times is because the answer to John's question "Are you the Coming One, the One we have been waiting on, The One we can find rest and hope in?" is a resounding restoringly emphatic YES
The moment I'm talking about happened as we were arriving to our rental home for the weekend. We had seen pictures on the internet and thought that we would be staying in this super nice home that would suit 8 comfortably. When we arrived though we found something different than what we were expecting, for one we had to park our cars in a pretty sketchy ally and found that the house really only creatively comfortably housed 8 (The wonders of air mattresses). In this moment where our expectations were met face to face with the reality of our situation someone followed by a chorus of followers asked "Is this really it? This isn't what I was expecting."
I'm sure my family and I aren't the only ones to have this experience, I mean it could happen on a blind date (Tall, dark and handsome my butt), or a class (You want how many pages on that paper). Those moments of feeling deceived by a friend on the attractiveness of a peer or feeling over burdened by a professor can leave us feeling betrayed or drained.
While I don't mean to downplay the seriousness of those times, what I want to focus on is when those "Really??? This is it??" moments creep into our relationship with God. Those time where we find ourselves in a situation that may be incredibly painful, fear stricken or immersed with doubt and our temptation is to look at God and say " Really, Is this it?" One such man that found himself in that situation is John The Baptist.
In Matthew 11 John the Baptist finds himself in prison and while there sends a messenger to Jesus asking him " Are you the Coming One or do we look for another?" (Matt. 11:2) This question might seem outlandish or strange coming from John the Baptist but we have to realize that he found himself very much in a situation like this. The Jews had expected a political savior so in their mind when the Messiah came he would deliver them from under the thumb of the Romans. You see this at several points when the crowd would want to make Jesus king only for Him to retreat.
So John the Baptist found himself in an extremely difficult situation being in jail and not having his expectations of how God would work through His chosen Messiah met. How often do we find ourselves in this position, broken over our current situation and asking God why He isn't working the way we thought He would... even subtly finding ourselves asking "Is this really it? Are You really the One?"
Christ answers his question not with judgement but rather with a beautiful reminder:
“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor."
He responds to John's question by reminding him of how exactly He is at work in the present situation. He tells them of the healing He is bringing to those who are broken and lost. He shows John the Baptist that their expectation of a political agenda is so far inferior to His work of restoration.
I think when I humbly look at my life the moments where I most commonly want to ask "Is this it God? Are you really the One?" come when I'm more focused on my agenda rather than His will. I can just imagine Christ calling out to me saying "Dustin I pursued you when you were unlovely and rebellious, I delivered You, I have purchased you, I am redeeming you, I have presented you as blameless before my Father and am even now working in you to make that a present reality."
So my encouragement for myself and all of us is when we find ourselves in those situations where we want to cry out in confusion and frustration is to remind ourselves of two things.
1.) Remember that Christ cares more about redeeming that which is broken than He does keeping us comfortable.
2.) When tempted to ask what are You doing God, we must remind ourselves of all that He has already done for us in the Gospel through Jesus.
The reason these can bring us comfort in those hard times is because the answer to John's question "Are you the Coming One, the One we have been waiting on, The One we can find rest and hope in?" is a resounding restoringly emphatic YES
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
The Hidden Danger
For my entire life I have enjoyed a television classic that has capture many hearts over the years. It inspired some to wear ascotts, made jinkies an acceptable phrase, showed us that minivans can be cool if they have a sweet name, and properly illustrated that dog is man's best friend. For those of you who were entertainment depraved as children or just really poor at picking up subtle hints, the show i'm describing is of course Scooby-Doo.
The basis of the show was this gang of meddling kids with their very lovable dog would encounter and subsequently solve mysteries such as who was haunting the old museum. In every episode though, there would come a point in which we as the audience could see the villain lurking nearby ready to pounce even though the mystery gang had no clue. As bucktoothed, Velcro shoe wearing, bowl cut sporting kids most of us wanted to scream "watch out!!!". Much to our frustration they didn't listen to us.... primarily because they couldn't hear us and inevitably they would run face to face with bad men themselves.
A similar experience can happen for all of us in life whether we be in ministry, working a 9-5, even for those who find themselves in the career purgatory known as college; we can be walking along doing life thinking everything is great not knowing there is a hidden monster lurking in the background of our lives waiting to snatch us. Hopefully this post can be a SHOUT that for once the ones it was meant for will hear and follow.
This hidden monster in our lives is often just "doing". Some of you are probably like "Wait, what?", please allow me to explain... In everything from Nike commercials telling us to "just do it" to the corporate ladder which promises us if we work hard enough we will climb up the ladder the underflow theme of the american dream is that in everything we must DO! So our lives often become centered around these questions "What do I need to do?" "What are you doing?" or even " What should I be doing?".
Eager Reader- "But Dustin you still haven't told us why this is dangerous"
Dustin- "Ah but here it comes"
The true danger of this comes when in all the hustle and bustle of doing we forget who we really are. As a wise mentor of mine told me once "Dustin we aren't human doings we are human beings". Therefore we have to remember to take time to simply be with God. As I have experienced it is very easy to slip into the mold of the mindset that we are so busy "doing for God" whether it be ministry, attempting to be a light in the workplace, or studying for the work He has called us to, that we forget that God has not called us to do for Him but rather to live alongside Him.
In Luke 10:41- 42 Jesus himself addresses this tension "But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
The very real risk that comes from this monster is that it is often hidden in the hearts of very well meaning Christians in the form of diligence or dedication to serving the Lord. Don't get me wrong those things are extremely vital, but at the very core of the Gospel is that God calls us first to Himself then from Him we go out. Too often we get so caught up going out, and "living on mission" that we forget God desires for us to come back to Him and rest in Him (Matthew 11:28).
This is NOT an invitation for laziness or apathy so for those couch surfers reading this remember that after Jesus summoned the disciples to Himself He would then send them out. My friend this is not an either or lifestyle but rather a both and (Matt Orth if you're reading this I know you would smile). We must both be with God while also serving Him. The danger that lurks is that too often we focus on the latter while neglecting the first.
Eager Reader -"So Dustin what do we do about it?
Dustin- "I'm so glad you asked"
In a world where the christian often looks to the new (new workout plan. new diet, new david platt book, new passion conference..... Etc) the answer actually originates from an extremely old concept: "The sabbath". The sabbath was created by God for man as a time for man to rest while intentionally spending a day focusing their attention to being with God. If God created it... there was probably a good reason for it and I believe among many others it provides antidote to the self induced poison of doing doing doing.
I'm not saying that everyone should take a day off and do nothing but pray while serving the other 6 days. Rather I'm saying quite the opposite, I'm saying that we should be serving everyday while setting time aside to first and foremost intentionally abiding with God.
Exodus 33:14 "And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest."
Let's not get caught by the lurking monster of "doing without being" but rather let us be as the old Tomlin song goes "a generation that seeks, seeks your face O God of Jacob."
The basis of the show was this gang of meddling kids with their very lovable dog would encounter and subsequently solve mysteries such as who was haunting the old museum. In every episode though, there would come a point in which we as the audience could see the villain lurking nearby ready to pounce even though the mystery gang had no clue. As bucktoothed, Velcro shoe wearing, bowl cut sporting kids most of us wanted to scream "watch out!!!". Much to our frustration they didn't listen to us.... primarily because they couldn't hear us and inevitably they would run face to face with bad men themselves.
A similar experience can happen for all of us in life whether we be in ministry, working a 9-5, even for those who find themselves in the career purgatory known as college; we can be walking along doing life thinking everything is great not knowing there is a hidden monster lurking in the background of our lives waiting to snatch us. Hopefully this post can be a SHOUT that for once the ones it was meant for will hear and follow.
This hidden monster in our lives is often just "doing". Some of you are probably like "Wait, what?", please allow me to explain... In everything from Nike commercials telling us to "just do it" to the corporate ladder which promises us if we work hard enough we will climb up the ladder the underflow theme of the american dream is that in everything we must DO! So our lives often become centered around these questions "What do I need to do?" "What are you doing?" or even " What should I be doing?".
Eager Reader- "But Dustin you still haven't told us why this is dangerous"
Dustin- "Ah but here it comes"
The true danger of this comes when in all the hustle and bustle of doing we forget who we really are. As a wise mentor of mine told me once "Dustin we aren't human doings we are human beings". Therefore we have to remember to take time to simply be with God. As I have experienced it is very easy to slip into the mold of the mindset that we are so busy "doing for God" whether it be ministry, attempting to be a light in the workplace, or studying for the work He has called us to, that we forget that God has not called us to do for Him but rather to live alongside Him.
In Luke 10:41- 42 Jesus himself addresses this tension "But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
The very real risk that comes from this monster is that it is often hidden in the hearts of very well meaning Christians in the form of diligence or dedication to serving the Lord. Don't get me wrong those things are extremely vital, but at the very core of the Gospel is that God calls us first to Himself then from Him we go out. Too often we get so caught up going out, and "living on mission" that we forget God desires for us to come back to Him and rest in Him (Matthew 11:28).
This is NOT an invitation for laziness or apathy so for those couch surfers reading this remember that after Jesus summoned the disciples to Himself He would then send them out. My friend this is not an either or lifestyle but rather a both and (Matt Orth if you're reading this I know you would smile). We must both be with God while also serving Him. The danger that lurks is that too often we focus on the latter while neglecting the first.
Eager Reader -"So Dustin what do we do about it?
Dustin- "I'm so glad you asked"
In a world where the christian often looks to the new (new workout plan. new diet, new david platt book, new passion conference..... Etc) the answer actually originates from an extremely old concept: "The sabbath". The sabbath was created by God for man as a time for man to rest while intentionally spending a day focusing their attention to being with God. If God created it... there was probably a good reason for it and I believe among many others it provides antidote to the self induced poison of doing doing doing.
I'm not saying that everyone should take a day off and do nothing but pray while serving the other 6 days. Rather I'm saying quite the opposite, I'm saying that we should be serving everyday while setting time aside to first and foremost intentionally abiding with God.
Exodus 33:14 "And He said, "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest."
Let's not get caught by the lurking monster of "doing without being" but rather let us be as the old Tomlin song goes "a generation that seeks, seeks your face O God of Jacob."
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
The Greatest Lie We Believe: Present Presence?
"Do remember you are there to fuddle him. From the way some of you young fiends talk, anyone would suppose it was our job to teach!"
This quote comes from the book Screwtape Letters by the famous author C.S. Lewis(for those unfamiliar with the book it is a series of fictional letters written from one elder demon to a younger demon instructing him on how to attack a certain young christian's faith). This quote comes from the very first letter in the book and teaches us something very profound about the warfare of the enemy in his attack of humans. He doesn't teach us evil, but rather slurs and blurs the truth so that we will live crippled lives.
We know that this is true by what we read in Genesis 3 and the way Satan tempts Eve by getting her to doubt and ultimately disregard the truth of God and by getting her to follow the lie she falls in sin, missing the life God would have for her and Adam.
One of the greatest tragedies in the church today I believe is that our brains have for so long believed and taught some of the Enemies lies that we are missing the lives God would have for us and we don't even know it. The next few posts will address some of the lies that I have observed or believed myself. First addressing them, then exposing them to the truth so that as the Bible says "the truth shall set you free".
One of these such lies is not necessarily taught explicitly but is definitely implied in our church jargon is the idea of God being present with us that is commonly held in the church today.
Allow me to explain. How often have we said after a really emotional time of worship that God is definitely among us. Or that we just want to be feel as if we are BURNING with a fire for the Lord. That in those mountain top experiences of life we feel as if God is so close.
Did you notice the common denominator in those phrases? Every phrase had to do with the idea of our feelings being connected to the presence of God. Which when our emotions are high makes perfect sense.
But what about when we sing songs and there isn't a "fire" in our chests? or What about when we are in the valleys and our emotions seem to be running dry? The question that comes to many a young believer then is commonly: "Where is God? He used to be so near but now I feel alone.
This my friends is one of the greatest lies we believe: That God's presence is tied to our emotion.
So when we feel the ooey-gooeys in worship He is near, but when we are in a desert time of life He has left us. This theology is so very dangerous because it leads to two really crippling results.
1) This idea of emotion=presence can lead to us pursuing an emotional high rather than pursuing God. We often will pray for hours and sing songs not so that we are communing with God but so that we can feel that "Fire" in our chest once again. God has called us to Himself, and sometimes we are rewarded with emotional elation because of that. The difference we must recognize is that elation is merely an occasional benefit of the pursuit, not the object of pursuit.
2.)When we don't "feel" God it can send us into a spiral wondering what we did wrong to get to this spot. The truth is that we so often believe that life's experiences are determined by our actions. So when the "fire" is put out or feels weak, a lot of times we start to wonder and question what we did wrong to get ourselves there. This is very different from what the Bible teaches us about hard times. As a matter of fact the Bible in several areas tells us to rejoice in times of suffering(James 1, Romans 5). The truth is that in those tough times God is often molding us to a better image of His Son, so that we can be more faithful lights in the mountaintops. So ultimately we remember that God has a purpose and is in control therefore all we need to do is trust Him.
But possibly the most destructive part of this whole lie of emotion=presence is that we forget arguably one of the most important and comforting promises from God in the entire Bible.
Hebrews 13:5 "... I will never leave you or forsake you"
God will never abandon us and He never leaves. His presence is constant in spite of our changing emotions. So the greatest challenge but pleasure of the believer is to learn to pursue God regardless of emotion, because regardless of emotion He is present with him ready to be pursued.
So may we walk in the truth of God instead of believing the lies of the enemy, so that we can enjoy the loving life-giving relationship with God that He intended for us.
This quote comes from the book Screwtape Letters by the famous author C.S. Lewis(for those unfamiliar with the book it is a series of fictional letters written from one elder demon to a younger demon instructing him on how to attack a certain young christian's faith). This quote comes from the very first letter in the book and teaches us something very profound about the warfare of the enemy in his attack of humans. He doesn't teach us evil, but rather slurs and blurs the truth so that we will live crippled lives.
We know that this is true by what we read in Genesis 3 and the way Satan tempts Eve by getting her to doubt and ultimately disregard the truth of God and by getting her to follow the lie she falls in sin, missing the life God would have for her and Adam.
One of the greatest tragedies in the church today I believe is that our brains have for so long believed and taught some of the Enemies lies that we are missing the lives God would have for us and we don't even know it. The next few posts will address some of the lies that I have observed or believed myself. First addressing them, then exposing them to the truth so that as the Bible says "the truth shall set you free".
One of these such lies is not necessarily taught explicitly but is definitely implied in our church jargon is the idea of God being present with us that is commonly held in the church today.
Allow me to explain. How often have we said after a really emotional time of worship that God is definitely among us. Or that we just want to be feel as if we are BURNING with a fire for the Lord. That in those mountain top experiences of life we feel as if God is so close.
Did you notice the common denominator in those phrases? Every phrase had to do with the idea of our feelings being connected to the presence of God. Which when our emotions are high makes perfect sense.
But what about when we sing songs and there isn't a "fire" in our chests? or What about when we are in the valleys and our emotions seem to be running dry? The question that comes to many a young believer then is commonly: "Where is God? He used to be so near but now I feel alone.
This my friends is one of the greatest lies we believe: That God's presence is tied to our emotion.
So when we feel the ooey-gooeys in worship He is near, but when we are in a desert time of life He has left us. This theology is so very dangerous because it leads to two really crippling results.
1) This idea of emotion=presence can lead to us pursuing an emotional high rather than pursuing God. We often will pray for hours and sing songs not so that we are communing with God but so that we can feel that "Fire" in our chest once again. God has called us to Himself, and sometimes we are rewarded with emotional elation because of that. The difference we must recognize is that elation is merely an occasional benefit of the pursuit, not the object of pursuit.
2.)When we don't "feel" God it can send us into a spiral wondering what we did wrong to get to this spot. The truth is that we so often believe that life's experiences are determined by our actions. So when the "fire" is put out or feels weak, a lot of times we start to wonder and question what we did wrong to get ourselves there. This is very different from what the Bible teaches us about hard times. As a matter of fact the Bible in several areas tells us to rejoice in times of suffering(James 1, Romans 5). The truth is that in those tough times God is often molding us to a better image of His Son, so that we can be more faithful lights in the mountaintops. So ultimately we remember that God has a purpose and is in control therefore all we need to do is trust Him.
But possibly the most destructive part of this whole lie of emotion=presence is that we forget arguably one of the most important and comforting promises from God in the entire Bible.
Hebrews 13:5 "... I will never leave you or forsake you"
God will never abandon us and He never leaves. His presence is constant in spite of our changing emotions. So the greatest challenge but pleasure of the believer is to learn to pursue God regardless of emotion, because regardless of emotion He is present with him ready to be pursued.
So may we walk in the truth of God instead of believing the lies of the enemy, so that we can enjoy the loving life-giving relationship with God that He intended for us.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Where is Your God?
"Things like this really make you think and remember those things that are most important in life" This cliche and trite statement is one that is usually offered after great tragedies. This first time I can remember an event that sparked that response happened when I was in my fourth grade classroom, Mrs. Hembree was crying and we didn't understand why. I mean September 11th was just another day right? Well 11 years later we know differently. The next time would be a little later and would not be the cause of a terrorist group but rather the destructive forces of nature under the alias "Katrina". Time and time again great tragedy would shake the world's population and cause us to think for a few days... but then mostly we go on back to our lives until the next catastrophe.
Unfortunately tragedy has struck once again in our nation. In a small Northeastern town a gunman walked into an elementary school and cause the nation to stop. In Newtown, Connecticut a town of less than 30,000 people 20 young kids were murdered that morning. Upon hearing it, some of our memories raced back to Columbine or Virginia Tech but all of us could not help but shake our heads in disbelief and anguish.
This Friday upon hearing news of great loss, great pain, great evil, but also great heroism (in the story of the teachers) our Nation has once again been forced to sit back and think as our cliche statement reminds us.
One question has arisen from the countless questions asked by hurt and confused people, garnering many facebook posts and politician responses. The question is "Where was God when this was happening?"
As I was reading the responses to this question, I was baffled and honestly troubled. Many of them go something like this..."Where was God? Well I'll tell you where He was, for years You people have been pushing Him out of the school system and our Nation! Now you want to ask where He is?" Responses like this are getting tons of likes and are even being brought before Government officials (Rachel Smart's Dad). While I'm sure these people have very genuine hearts and truly do mean the best, I want to raise one caution.
When David in Psalm 139:7 stated "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?" He was hitting on a very important part of our faith and religion. You see in the following verses David answers these questions by concluding that there is nowhere he can go to escape the presence of God. Not even Hell itself. Again in Deuteronomy 31 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
A very important aspect of Who God is can be found in the fact that He is Omnipresent, or that He is forever present everywhere. This means as Psalm 23 states We need not fear in our darkest days because our God is with us. We sing these truths in songs while standing in our Church Pews but in our response to this resounding question we deny them.
We have said that in our Government's enforcing laws banning spiritual actions within a School they have effectually removed God from our Schools. My Friends no man has that power! I thank God that NO ONE has the power to remove us from His presence, not even the President of the United States! We as the Church and as those who claim to be followers of Christ must not confuse an absence of organized spiritual acitons with the absence of the One those actions are directed to! Our God is very much alive and well not only in our Schools but everywhere! This means that in order for a revival in our nation we need not get actions unbanned but instead focus on turning hearts back to the One who is begging for them to come to Him.
As the famous theologian A.W. Tozer once said "We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts."
So when our friends ask us "Where was your God when this happened?", we need nearly reply "He was there and He is here. He never left and He never will. He just begging for our acknowledgement, attention and adoration. Because the question should never be is God here or there, but rather are we seeking Him?
Unfortunately tragedy has struck once again in our nation. In a small Northeastern town a gunman walked into an elementary school and cause the nation to stop. In Newtown, Connecticut a town of less than 30,000 people 20 young kids were murdered that morning. Upon hearing it, some of our memories raced back to Columbine or Virginia Tech but all of us could not help but shake our heads in disbelief and anguish.
This Friday upon hearing news of great loss, great pain, great evil, but also great heroism (in the story of the teachers) our Nation has once again been forced to sit back and think as our cliche statement reminds us.
One question has arisen from the countless questions asked by hurt and confused people, garnering many facebook posts and politician responses. The question is "Where was God when this was happening?"
As I was reading the responses to this question, I was baffled and honestly troubled. Many of them go something like this..."Where was God? Well I'll tell you where He was, for years You people have been pushing Him out of the school system and our Nation! Now you want to ask where He is?" Responses like this are getting tons of likes and are even being brought before Government officials (Rachel Smart's Dad). While I'm sure these people have very genuine hearts and truly do mean the best, I want to raise one caution.
When David in Psalm 139:7 stated "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?" He was hitting on a very important part of our faith and religion. You see in the following verses David answers these questions by concluding that there is nowhere he can go to escape the presence of God. Not even Hell itself. Again in Deuteronomy 31 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
A very important aspect of Who God is can be found in the fact that He is Omnipresent, or that He is forever present everywhere. This means as Psalm 23 states We need not fear in our darkest days because our God is with us. We sing these truths in songs while standing in our Church Pews but in our response to this resounding question we deny them.
We have said that in our Government's enforcing laws banning spiritual actions within a School they have effectually removed God from our Schools. My Friends no man has that power! I thank God that NO ONE has the power to remove us from His presence, not even the President of the United States! We as the Church and as those who claim to be followers of Christ must not confuse an absence of organized spiritual acitons with the absence of the One those actions are directed to! Our God is very much alive and well not only in our Schools but everywhere! This means that in order for a revival in our nation we need not get actions unbanned but instead focus on turning hearts back to the One who is begging for them to come to Him.
As the famous theologian A.W. Tozer once said "We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts."
So when our friends ask us "Where was your God when this happened?", we need nearly reply "He was there and He is here. He never left and He never will. He just begging for our acknowledgement, attention and adoration. Because the question should never be is God here or there, but rather are we seeking Him?
Friday, October 12, 2012
The Greatest War no one talks about
Hey guys,
It's been a while (9 Months in fact) but I have decided to pick up the old pen and pad (keyboard and screen) and jot down what God has been teaching me and see what you guys think. I hope you enjoy!
As a young man it may not surprise you that I love the gut-wrenching, adrenaline-pumping, chest hair flowing nature of war movies. Whether it's the suspense as the soldiers try to capture a town or the fear you feel for them as they are hunkered down in a foxhole with bombs exploding around them, they suck me in and get my heart racing. Here recently some of my friends and I have been watching Band of Brothers, which is one of my all time favorites. The issue of War is one that through movies and the history books our culture is very used to.
So it should be no surprise that in the church we often talk about wars as well. We have the great physical battles of the old testament, whether that be David and Goliath or Gideon or even Joshua and Jericho. We also talk about the spiritual warfare as angels and demons fight all around us too. Pastors such as John Piper are also very keen on talking about warring over sin, the idea that we fight against sin and fight for purity.
However I think there is one war that no one is talking much about. This war can at times be silent, and while it is often in the background of our lives it has bearing on every circumstance of life. The Great War I speak of is the war over Trust.
You may be sitting there reading this thinking "Dustin, what in the world are you talking about? You are telling me that the greatest war going on is fought over trust?" Before you hit that nice little red x in the top of your screen humor me and allow me to explain.
Imagine you are sitting in a bland ole town with nothing, when all of a sudden a travel agent offers you to go on the best vacation you could possibly think of.... It promises relaxation and restoration of every part of you... and the best part it's a free gift from a Pilot. He tells you of this great Pilot who is not only going to pick you up where you are at but He is personally going to fly you all the way there and ensure your arrival at your destination.
So you get on the plain and you fly there trusting in the pilot to not only take you from your current state but also trusting him to fly you all the way there safely and land at your destination safely. Why would you trust this Pilot??? You trust the pilot because he has promised to take you there safely and because He is the most qualified person to fly the plane, right?
How ridiculous would it be if you let the pilot take off and as soon as the plane was in motion you asked the pilot to give you the controls?? We would say that's absurd, it's not our job to fly the plane so we should sit back and enjoy our role.
I think often times that is exactly what goes on in the lives of Christians though. We say Jesus I trust you to save me out of my current mess, and I trust you that one day that you will bring me to my destination. But in the air time between our past and future we want to fly the plane.
When God saves us He promises to change our heart and transform us into likeness of His son Jesus. When it comes to this process we want to say "Hey God, thanks for getting this plane started, but how about I fly this for a bit. Let me show you that I can do this. I'll let you land it, but let me prove to you I can fly this on my own"
Deep down when we sin and see weakness within ourselves our gut reaction is to pray harder or read more scripture or fast more. In so doing under the disguise of spirituality is a heart that learns to trust more in actions for God than God himself. We think we will be pure if we do more.
Meanwhile Jesus from the cross is screaming stop trying war against what I have already defeated. Jesus cries for us to have faith in Him, not to have faith in our faith in Him.
Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
and again in his letter to the Galatians
"Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" ?(Galatians 3:3)
We too often desire to trust in ourselves, when God simply desires for us to trust in Him. To trust that He will finish what He began. We still pray and we still read the Bible and we still fast, however, we no longer do those things so that we will be free from sin. We do those things to praise God because He is freeing us. We no longer read the Bible seeing what do I need to do next we instead read it as what has God done for me which evokes a response from us. Because God is on the throne we don't have to be!!!!
So instead of trying to fight the pilot for the controls to our plane, let's sit back, obey what He says and allow our heart to trust in One who is much greater than us to do a work that is much greater than us.
It's been a while (9 Months in fact) but I have decided to pick up the old pen and pad (keyboard and screen) and jot down what God has been teaching me and see what you guys think. I hope you enjoy!
As a young man it may not surprise you that I love the gut-wrenching, adrenaline-pumping, chest hair flowing nature of war movies. Whether it's the suspense as the soldiers try to capture a town or the fear you feel for them as they are hunkered down in a foxhole with bombs exploding around them, they suck me in and get my heart racing. Here recently some of my friends and I have been watching Band of Brothers, which is one of my all time favorites. The issue of War is one that through movies and the history books our culture is very used to.
So it should be no surprise that in the church we often talk about wars as well. We have the great physical battles of the old testament, whether that be David and Goliath or Gideon or even Joshua and Jericho. We also talk about the spiritual warfare as angels and demons fight all around us too. Pastors such as John Piper are also very keen on talking about warring over sin, the idea that we fight against sin and fight for purity.
However I think there is one war that no one is talking much about. This war can at times be silent, and while it is often in the background of our lives it has bearing on every circumstance of life. The Great War I speak of is the war over Trust.
You may be sitting there reading this thinking "Dustin, what in the world are you talking about? You are telling me that the greatest war going on is fought over trust?" Before you hit that nice little red x in the top of your screen humor me and allow me to explain.
Imagine you are sitting in a bland ole town with nothing, when all of a sudden a travel agent offers you to go on the best vacation you could possibly think of.... It promises relaxation and restoration of every part of you... and the best part it's a free gift from a Pilot. He tells you of this great Pilot who is not only going to pick you up where you are at but He is personally going to fly you all the way there and ensure your arrival at your destination.
So you get on the plain and you fly there trusting in the pilot to not only take you from your current state but also trusting him to fly you all the way there safely and land at your destination safely. Why would you trust this Pilot??? You trust the pilot because he has promised to take you there safely and because He is the most qualified person to fly the plane, right?
How ridiculous would it be if you let the pilot take off and as soon as the plane was in motion you asked the pilot to give you the controls?? We would say that's absurd, it's not our job to fly the plane so we should sit back and enjoy our role.
I think often times that is exactly what goes on in the lives of Christians though. We say Jesus I trust you to save me out of my current mess, and I trust you that one day that you will bring me to my destination. But in the air time between our past and future we want to fly the plane.
When God saves us He promises to change our heart and transform us into likeness of His son Jesus. When it comes to this process we want to say "Hey God, thanks for getting this plane started, but how about I fly this for a bit. Let me show you that I can do this. I'll let you land it, but let me prove to you I can fly this on my own"
Deep down when we sin and see weakness within ourselves our gut reaction is to pray harder or read more scripture or fast more. In so doing under the disguise of spirituality is a heart that learns to trust more in actions for God than God himself. We think we will be pure if we do more.
Meanwhile Jesus from the cross is screaming stop trying war against what I have already defeated. Jesus cries for us to have faith in Him, not to have faith in our faith in Him.
Paul tells us in his letter to the Philippians
"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)
and again in his letter to the Galatians
"Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?" ?(Galatians 3:3)
We too often desire to trust in ourselves, when God simply desires for us to trust in Him. To trust that He will finish what He began. We still pray and we still read the Bible and we still fast, however, we no longer do those things so that we will be free from sin. We do those things to praise God because He is freeing us. We no longer read the Bible seeing what do I need to do next we instead read it as what has God done for me which evokes a response from us. Because God is on the throne we don't have to be!!!!
So instead of trying to fight the pilot for the controls to our plane, let's sit back, obey what He says and allow our heart to trust in One who is much greater than us to do a work that is much greater than us.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Burn On!
Hey all this is my first post of the new year, so of course while attempting to not be cliche or cheesy I'm going to address a very prominent topic: New Year's Resolutions.
Tis the season for gyms to be over-crowded with folks trying to shed off that holiday hangover that stretches out over their pants, for health food stores to be selling out of their low fat items, and for nike outlets to be selling out of their new running shoes. As we across america make our resolutions and begin to implement them into our lives.
This got me thinking why do we make these resolutions? Why year after year do people strive to lose weight or get back in shape? After some thought I think I may have it down, because innately I believe we as people recognize there are areas in our lives in need of improvement so in order to improve our lives we resolve to change.
This led me to smile and have joy that in a sense New Years Resolutions can be a wake up call from apathy as it drives us to change. However, then I realized woah! Our society's big wake up call is that we need to change how we look? This is really where we need improvement and this is really how we are going to better the world??
What lasting impact does this have? How does losing 15 pounds really impact your neighborhood. Now pleas understand my heart, I'm not trying to say losing weight before bathing suit season is a bad thing. However what I am saying is I think there is a better use of our resolution. If we are going to resolve to do something, to place significant effort into something, it should be worth the effort!
So with that being said, allow me to possibly remind you of a very simple but life-changing concept.
Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
This year for an impact that lasts strive to with everything you have seek God! Pursue a deepening relationship with Him that so consumes you that it effects every aspect of your life.
I once heard someone say "I want God to set a Fire in me that burns so wildly people want to watch me burn." We find in Hebrews 12 That God is an all consuming fire. So this New Year may we simply but passionately Burn On!
We will have off days, even weeks, but unlike our resolutions to lose weight; let's not quit after we miss the gym one day. Let's continue to press on. Fires will often wane at times only to have more fuel be added to them so that they will burn hotter and longer. Our love and passion for God is the fire; and through His word, prayer, and fellowship with other believer we have plenty of fuel.
This January until the day we pass may we be a generation that seeks God with all our heart, and may we Burn On!
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