When Obedience is Awkward

With all the power he could muster, he wrapped his tiny hands around daddy’s power drill/driver. He was given the task of screwing a couple of screws into the wall. He took both of his little hands and hoisted the monster up to the screw. It took him a couple of minutes to get it positioned…

Then he pulled the trigger.

He wasn’t expecting that much power. The drill spun itself out of the screw, and along the wall, leaving a healthy scratch. The little boy tried again. He labored and labored, until finally those screws were embedded into the now scratched up and mangled wall. 

Everything about the execution of this chore was awkward. And everything about it pleased the heart of this boy’s father.

Excellence, Excellence, Everywhere

I think about that little boy trying to use that power tool when I read things like this:

It’s important that we start and end with this: God demands excellence from us. And excellence is not about having more money, more staff, or more talent. Excellence is a choice. It’s setting a standard and living up to it. And our Creator wants a level of creativity in our churches and in our programs that is at the highest level. We are commanded and required to deliver. –Brad Lomenick

I’ve heard similar things before. And I think that I agree in part. We don’t want to have flippant attitudes toward worshipping the Lord. We want to give the Lord the best of us.

But let’s be honest, “the best of us” is always awkward. Living out the Christian life is not marked by excellence or victorious living. It’s marked by awkwardness. Beautiful, God-honoring, awkwardness.

And you and I need to be okay with that.

If we develop an attitude which says, “If it cannot be done perfectly then I don’t want to do it at all”, then we will never stumble our way through obeying Christ. Things like evangelism are awkward. Every step of the way. At least it is for me. At times awkwardness is our only option.

I’m not awesome. I’m awkward. That is why I delight in Psalm 103. “He knows our frame, He remembers that we are but dust…” I’m like that little boy wielding that power tool every time I get up to preach. Every time I husband, and father, and disciple. And I scratch lots of walls. I sometimes make a mess of things with my clumsy obedience. But I plan to keep going at it until I get that screw securely into the wall.

If you are inelegant in your exercise of grace, as I am, then you’ll be refreshed by this William Bridge quote:

…the Lord proclaims unto all His children, that what they lack in performance, he will make up in [compassion]. He proclaims this unto them, that He will require no more than He gives; He will give what He requires, and He will accept what He gives.

[Insert *sigh of relief* here]

Love in the Trinity

Today’s guest post comes from the pen of Jim Pemberton. Jim, his wife, Lois, and three children are members of Western Avenue Baptist Church in Statesville, NC, where they are active in the music ministry, foreign missions and local evangelism. Jim has a passion for strengthening the Body of Christ through sound Bible teaching and discipleship.

There’s a common teaching from the Bible that that God is love (1 John 4:8) and I suspect most of us are familiar with it. However, perhaps you’ve said or heard someone ask the question, “How could a loving God…?” This typically calls into question something about what the Bible teaches about God. What is often not taught is what love is according to the Bible and how it is exactly that God is love. So let’s look at that now.

Definitive and Descriptive Statements

There are two kinds of static statements that give us information on any subject. Descriptive statements give us information that may at least partially define the subject. Definitive statements may be descriptive in nature, but serve the purpose of identifying something uniquely. So if I told you that my car was red, that would narrow down which car is mine to some degree, but there are plenty of red cars in the world. If I gave you the VIN, that would narrow it down to only one car in the world.

When you are looking for how an author defines a word in the Bible, you look for definitive and descriptive statements in contexts that are appropriate for such things.

Love Never Ends

I usually stay away from loose translations of the Bible, but sometimes different translations can result in noticing something that can trigger a fruitful study. Recently, I was with a group who was reading 1 Corinthians 13 from the Good News Translation and we came to verse 8. Most translations render the Greek accurately to read “Love never ends,” in English. The translators of the GNT rendered it, “Love is eternal.” This is a descriptive statement, but the information we gain here is very useful for understanding love.

As I followed along in the reading, I realized that the rest of the chapter followed from this. The Greek doesn’t say “eternal”, but that’s essentially what it means. Every other gift of God falls away, but not love. When we stand before God, even faith and hope are mitigated by their fulfillment. Our faith is complete and our hope is complete because we are present with our Lord.

Love is Sacrificial and Submissive

Paul wrote a definitive statement for his use of love in Ephesians 5. The context is mutual submission (verse 21) as an expression of love among believers in general (verse 2) and in the covenant of marriage in particular (verses 22ff). In verse 25 he wrote the following:

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,”

Although it’s cloaked in the context, the definitive statement is that love is sacrificial. In the context love is submissive in that it seeks to meet another’s needs above meeting one’s own needs.

Paul is hardly the only apostle to write extensively about love. John agreed with Paul in a definitive statement that falls in the context of a teaching conversation Jesus had with his inner core of disciples that goes into detail about what Paul seems to casually touch on in 1 Corinthians 13:8. In John 15:13, he writes:

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”

This simple sentence identifies love as that which is sacrificial on a scale at which the uppermost measure is the giving of one’s own life in the course of meeting another’s need.

Love Is the Basis for the Relationship Between Members of the Trinity

If we look at what John says about love in the conversation recorded in John chapters 14-17 we see how it is that love operates in an eternal context:
In 14:1-14, Jesus describes his relationship with the father as each being in the other. His role with the father is one of submission to the Father (verses 10, 11). In verse 12 Jesus indicates that this relationship is available to the disciples through faith and the obedience of submission. In verse 15, Jesus indicates that this practice is love. He also brings in the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, who he calls the “Helper” and the “Spirit of Truth”. The conversation that follows clarifies that each member of the Trinity is in each other on the basis of love (15:9, 10).

…And the Basis for Our Relationship with God

The amazing thing I notice is that this is intended to encourage and exhort the disciples to follow in this pattern of love. In so doing, Jesus indicates that as his followers, his disciples share in that divine, eternal love. Now that’s not to say that we will become God, but rather that we have an unbreakable relationship with God the same way that the members of the trinity have with each other. This gives us boldness in the face of the darkness of this world. If anything, this is John’s Great Commission discourse.

If you love God, go with the knowledge that you are in him and you have him in you with power and authority to accomplish what he has for you to accomplish in his name. So, when we face hardships the question is not how a loving God could allow such things. Rather our response should joy in the fact that we have him with us to face the worst situations.

When Cancer Hi-Jacks Your Reunion

A little over a year ago Jason Taber had supper with his sister, Tonya. This was no ordinary meal. This was the first time they had met. On Jason’s 38th birthday he reached out to his sister for the first time in his life.

Now, one year later Jason stands beside Tonya’s hospital bed as she is fighting complications from Hodgkins lymphoma*. Their story is a testimony of God’s grace and the uniting power of the gospel. Jason was kind enough to share his story with us.

Jason, can you share the back story to your relationship with Tonya? What inspired you to finally reach out to Tonya?

My birth father left me when I was a baby. I learned that I was adopted at the age of 12 or 13. I first learned that Tonya existed when she first got married about 13 years ago. I had always stayed away because I assumed that the family wanted nothing to do with me. In reality Tonya had known about me her whole life, and had prayed for the day that we would meet.

God had been working in my heart for awhile about my propensity to isolate when things get difficult. One Sunday a man from our church shared his testimony of reaching out to his estranged daughter. On November 22, 2011, my 38th birthday, I finally decided to contact Tonya. I feared that it would be awkward. It has been everything but that; it is as if we had known each other those 37 years.

Shortly after our reunion I met my dad for the first time. Or rather I saw him for the first time, he was lifeless on a hospital bed. Tonya’s relationship with him had been fractured. We were able to be there for one another during this time.

When was Tonya diagnosed with cancer?

Tonya was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in October of 2012, just under a year of our first meeting.

What was your initial reaction?

My first reaction was a mixture of fear, anger and confusion. I was terrified to lose this person that I had just found. We had quickly filled empty spots in each others lives and become extremely close. I was also very angry and confused with God. I could not understand why He would bring us together only to take her away from me. That along with other setbacks in my life made me pull away from God and those close to me. I was becoming bitter.

About a week ago Tonya had some major complications from the cancer. Can you tell us a little about this recent trial?

About two weeks ago Tonya experienced extreme fatigue from chemotherapy treatments. On February 10th she collapsed in the shower. She was admitted to the hospital the next day. At first the doctors assumed they were treating dehydration and other deficiencies due to her weakened immune system. Little did they know an infection had taken hold, with her body having no way to fight it. On February 15th, Tonya developed a fever and labored breathing. They quickly determined that she had fluid in her lungs and feared she could be septic. Within hours she crashed, with her blood pressure dangerously low and unable to breathe.

I received the call that she had been rushed to ICU, and I needed to come quickly. Shortly thereafter the decision was made to put her on a ventilator. Things looked very bleak. For three days she was under constant sedation as they tried to kill the infection in her body. On Monday the 18th they awoke her from sedation. It took me 2 hours to get her to open her eyes. She has steadily—actually quite miraculously—improved since then. From last Wednesday on she has improved leaps and bounds every day. (Tonya was actually released yesterday, to continue recovery at home).

How have you seen God's grace during this time? 

God's grace was evident in so many areas. Tonya's immune system was completely gone, medically speaking she should not have made it. The outpouring of prayer on Facebook and in churches all over the place was an act of grace. The cancer that had caused me to isolate from God and other unbelievers, had now by the grace of God drawn hundreds of believers to my side to encourage me. There is no way on my own volition I would have done that. God was gracious to draw me to Him, and believers to me when I needed it most. It was by God's grace that Tonya received amazing care. Doctors somehow made the correct choices without even knowing what they were fighting at first.

How has this trial of suffering strengthened your relationship with Tonya? with the Lord? 

My relationship with Tonya was very strong to begin with, but this situation has made it even stronger. We lived 37 years without being able to be there for each other. We both suffer from abandonment issues due to our history with our dad. He wasn't there for her much more than he was for me. Tonya knows now that even in the worst circumstances, I will never leave her side. Watching my sister through a window, many mornings at 3 or 4am, struggling to just take each breath, made me realize just how much that I love this person.

These same times alone in the morning, also strengthened my relationship with God. I was at a point where I was helpless to do anything. All I could do was cry out to God to save my sister. Sometimes I didn't even have words, just sobs or tears. In the beginning, I felt alone without my sister. By the end, it was obvious that God has carried Tonya and the family through. We had given everything, we were drained and weary. He picked us up each time that we felt like we couldn't go on. I feel ashamed for pushing God away while I attempted to fix all my problems on my own. I have no doubt that it was only by God that Tonya was healed. His grace and love was so great that at times it felt like being hit by a truck. It was overwhelming each time Tonya was able to do something she had no business being able to do. This is one of those markers in life I can look back on and say “look what God did!”

What is one thing that you would say to estranged siblings?

For those who know they have a sibling out there, don't ever give up. Tonya prayed for years to have a relationship with me, her brother. For those scared to reach out, take the risk, it is worth it. For years, I missed out on a relationship with an incredible woman, my sister. I was held back by fear. We have a God who forgives, and who heals broken relationships. Pray!!!  I can't say enough about Tonya praying and the faithfulness of God to hear that prayer.

Lastly, how can people get involved? How can we pray?

Pray for Tonya to continue gaining strength. Also, she does still have cancer. Pray that she can get rid of the cancer when her strength returns. Pray also for her three young children.

If you are interested in further updates to the story, or to know how to pray with more information, you are invited to join the Praying for Tonya Hief page.

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*Tonya was actually released from the hospital yesterday to continue her recovery at home.

Why I Took the Moabites Shelter

Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah;
I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;
for over your summer fruit and your harvest the shout has ceased.
-Isaiah 16:9

I can’t wrap my mind around this passage. Or better yet my theology. The “I” in those sentences is the Lord. He is weeping over the destruction of these cities. That is what has me baffled at the complex emotions of the Lord.

Some would have no problem with this passage. “Of course God is weeping over these cities. He loves all people and when the devil destroys them, or the consequence of their sin catches up with them, the Lord cannot help but weep over them”. Isaiah 16:9 fits easily into this theology. One problem though…

Isaiah 16:10. “ have put an end to the shouting…”

The same “I” that is weeping is the same “I” that put an end to the shouting. Verse 10 does not cause me to scratch my head either. The sovereign Lord of the universe has every right to put an end to their shouting. They are prideful. He is--as verse 6 shows--insolent, arrogant, and engaging in idle boasting. I do not have a problem with the Lord judging Moab, and even doing so with at least some pleasure (like that of a mother watching the execution of the man that brutally raped and murdered her daughter).

What baffles me is the combination of these verses. It is even more prominent in the shift from verse 10 to verse 11. “I have put an end to the shouting. Therefore…” What would you expect here? The Lord has judged their pride and has put an end to their wrong-headed and ill-hearted mirth. I would expect something other than this: “Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab…”

As I reflect on Isaiah 16 I find myself trying to unite these verses. I want to make sense of them and put them in a nice little box. It’s as if Isaiah 16 has given me a Scooby Doo mystery that inspires me to eat a massive sub sandwich and solve the riddle of the God who mourns over those He smites.

Then I realize that this is not a mystery to be unraveled. This is a God to be worshipped. He is just. He is loving. He is gracious. He provides shelter to those under His wrath (Isaiah 16:3-5), saying “come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Yet, in their pride they never come. And He mourns as their shouts of joy cease because of His hand.

Not All There Is to Say

This would be my story if it were not for the “But God” in Ephesians 2. I responded and took the shelter that the prideful Moabites did not. Yet, I was just as prideful as they, if not more so! The only thing that drew me into the shelter house of grace was the Father’s election, which motivated the Spirit’s wooing, which drew me into the Son’s covering.

Isaiah 16 isn’t my story because sovereign grace is. I do not understand why the Lord does what He does. Nor do I pretend to even understand the complexities of a God that mourns the judgment that His hand doles out. But what I do know is that grace has captured me. And for that I am grateful.

The Protection of God in Tearing Me to Pieces

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.”  (Psalm 5:11)

“Spread your protection over them”

Sure doesn’t seem like that sometimes.  If God is protecting me then why do I still have to endure suffering?  If God is protecting me why do I still get sick?  Why do we go through financial difficulties?  Why do certain things happen in my life that cause heart-breaking anxiety? 

Sometimes I don’t feel protected.  Granted it could be that God is protecting me and I just don’t see it.  I am certain that happens at times. 

But seriously, God seems to have no problem rocking my life every so often.  From all appearances he is not protecting me from suffering.  Rather than spreading protection over me it feels like he is tearing me into pieces. 

I wonder, though, is it possible that maybe those two things aren’t polar opposites.  Is it possible that the activity of God in tearing me to pieces (Hosea 6) is actually the means that he is using to spread his protection over me?

The truth is that I’m too short-sighted to know my real enemies.  Sickness, financial difficulty, and anxiety may be God protecting me from the enemy of self-sufficiency and self-reliance; which are far more deadly than any physical calamity.  What good would it be for me to gain the whole world (protected from all calamity) and yet lose my soul? 

Perhaps the greatest part of God’s protecting ministry is to protect us from our own foolish hearts and soul-damning idolatry.  God is absolutely committed to me.  He has said he will protect me even if that means painfully ripping idols out of my heart and life. 

More Amazing than Walking on Water

[47] And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. [48] And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, [49] but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, [50] for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” [51] And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, [52] for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. (Mark 6:47-52 ESV)

The above passage was one that was the subject of intense debate in 20th century quest for the historical Jesus.  Some considered this story an optical illusion caused by Jesus walking on the shore, or perhaps a deception—in that he was really only walking on a sandbar.  It was impossible in the minds of many of these scholars that the laws of nature could be broken by a man walking on the water. 

But I think they missed something.  Verse 48 really is not the most astonishing verse in this passage.  The most astonishing verse in this entire passage is verse 51, “And he got in the boat with them…”  THAT is what is mind-boggling about this passage. 

Let me explain. 

The Deity of Christ is all over this passage.  His intent to “pass them by” is more than likely a reference to Exodus 33 (the glory of God “passing by” Moses) or more likely even a reference to Job 9.  As James Edwards has pointed out, “The Job quotation summarizes a passage that begins in 9:1ff by recounting the awesome separation between God and humanity”. 

The astonishing thing in this passage is that the transcendent God, the wholly Other, the eternal I AM, has now become Emmanuel.  The majestic God that had to cover Moses’ eyes is now getting in a boat with His ragtag band of followers at 4 in the morning.  THAT is what is unbelievable about this text. 

God walking on water is not so hard for me to grasp.  After all He is God.  What is hard for me to grasp, though, is that this transcendent God bridged the gap of separation and could be found in a boat.  The I AM has become Emmanuel that is astonishing!

Borrowed Light: Today in Blogworld 01/16

Challies begins Day 8 on his blog tour, today he finds himself with the Pyromaniacs. Frank Turk leads the interview and ask Challies several questions. Mostly on Challies' sources. It's a great discussion.

Frank Turk is also busy answering whether or not God's love is unconditional. I love his answer: "God's forgiveness is not unconditional: it is conditioned wholly on the price Christ paid to secure a right payment for sin. What Christ did made God both just -- that is, a just judge, able to forgive without being a violator of justice -- and the justifier of men." Check out his argumentation here.

Jared Wilson, a teaching minister for college students at Element, has some great thoughts today about the difficulties of young adult ministry.

As soon as it was announced that Dr. Mohler would be a candidate for President of the SBC some detractors began questioning his theology, character, leadership, etc. Inevitably within the SBC one major discussion will be on Mohler's Calvinism. Can we have a Calvinistic leader in the SBC? (If you know Baptist history then you know how ludicrous that question is). Today Tony Kumner points us to one of Mohler's past answers to the Calvinism criticism.

Thabiti has an excellent article on Lone Ranger Christians. What is his answer to these lone rangers? Mutual belonging.

John MacArthur considers the primary purpose of the church. Is it Inward, Upward, or Outward? I am yet to determine if I agree with him. I prefer Piper's statement of saying that missions exist because worship doesn't. But I can certainly follow Mac's argumentation. I tend to think that God's primary purpose is to receive glory. MacArthur agrees with this but he believes that it is through the redemption of mankind that God is most glorified. Therefore he seems to be putting "outward" as the purpose of the church. Perhaps my problem is that it creates a false dichotomy. Upward without Outward is probably insincere. If we love God we will have a desire to see men come to him. Outward without Upward is no more than the social gospel. The statement of MacArthur that gives me the most trouble is this one: "And if God’s primary purpose for the saved were to give Him praise, He would, again, take believers immediately to heaven, where praise is perfect and unending." I certainly see the logic but is that Scriptural? What do you think?

Art Rogers on his blog 12 Witnesses has a very funny post about the Dangers of Bread. My wife wants me to buy her a bread maker, I'm having second thoughts now. (HT: Micah)

Also, be sure to check out the new Bible.org. (HT: JT)