Why Is It Always Revelation(s) That They Want to Study?

So, this unchurched guy comes in my office and tells me that he has started reading the Bible. I’m excited but I almost know what he’s going to say next.

I pause and wait for him to articulate what I know is coming…

The silence is broken. And my assumption is correct. He has chosen to begin his study in Revelations. (It is of course mandatory that you call it Revelations instead of Revelation when you pick this as your first book).

And I sit and wonder why anyone would begin with arguably the most difficult book in the entire canon of Scripture to begin his study. I assume Hollywood, coupled with our fixation on the world blowing up, is largely to blame. Yet I wonder if there isn’t another, not so obvious reason, why folks choose difficult Old Testament passages or Revelation to begin their study. Perhaps a hidden Jesus is safer and more attractive.

Deal With Jesus Directly

So, I counseled this confused looking fella as I normally do. I told him to stop his reading in Revelation and take up the Gospel of Mark. That probably sounds like I’m saying that Mark is better than Revelation and that I’m encouraging people to be red-letter Christians only. Not the case.

Let’s be honest and confess that this dude is doing everything backwards anyways. It shouldn’t just be him and Jesus alone in a room with an open Bible. He needs the church. He needs to study God’s Word alongside of God’s people. That’s ideal.

But he’s likely to insist on continuing as a lone ranger; and this largely because He hasn’t yet been reconciled to God and henceforth other believers. So if he must study the Bible on his own I want him to deal with Jesus directly. Not through shadows. Not through allegory. Just the bare Jesus of the Gospels.

Let him deal with Christ and be haunted by the Nazarene. Let him figure out how Mary’s son can calm a raging sea with the word of His mouth. Cause him to be confronted with the screams of the crowd saying, “Crucify him”. And leave him with the centurion’s confession, “Truly this man was the Son of God”.

He must be confronted and transformed by this Jesus. Then maybe he’ll get his tail in church and gather with other believers where we can start working through the Old Testament and Revelation.

Jesus and Millennial Wants

There was an article that appeared a couple of times on my Facebook feed over the weekend. It’s an article by Rachel Held Evans on Why millennials are leaving the church. There is so much about this article that I celebrate. I appreciate her encouragement to drop the “church-as-performance” model. Furthermore, I think she’s largely correct about why millennials are leaving the church.

Yet at the same time that I celebrate much of the article I remain a tad befuddled. At one point the author states, “we millennials have highly sensitive BS meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances”. And she then makes the argument that “what millennials want is a change in substance”. After this she lists several things that this generation wants from church.

Her striking conclusion—the point that the whole article is driving towards—is that “we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there.” And that is what confuses me.

Why I’m befuddled

If what she means is that churches aren’t preaching Jesus then I think millennials ought to leave. But it isn’t the church that millennials are leaving its a social club with a cross hanging on the side of the building. Maybe a mass exodus out of social clubs calling themselves a church isn’t such a bad thing. 

But I don’t think that is the whole story. I wonder if maybe we millennials are the very thing that we say that we hate. On one hand we say that we want Jesus. But I wonder if it’s really Jesus that we want.

If what we really want is Jesus, then we ought to drop our “wants” and come running—not only to Jesus but to the messy church that he bought with His blood. Listen, the second that we come to Jesus with a list of our wants we’ve moved away from being a disciple and we’ve become a consumer. Which, again, is the very thing that Evans says millennials dislike about the church.

If you leave when you don’t like something that is the mentality of a consumer, not of a disciple.

Jesus and Millennial Wants

As I scan through the Gospels, I’m thinking about how Jesus responded to those that approached him as consumers. On one hand our Lord is always stooping. He reaches people where they are. And if this happens to be as a consumer—the Lord stoops and speaks to them on that level. But he always challenges them.

I think of the Rich Young Ruler that viewed Jesus as a good teacher that could nail down this question that has been nagging him. He left sorrowful because Jesus wasn’t a product to be consumed but a King to be followed.

I consider the throng of people that wanted to make Jesus a king because of his culinary skills. They left that day without their king because Jesus isn’t merely an earthly king to be hoisted onto a temporary throne, He’s the eternal ruler and sustainer of the universe.

I’m left to wonder whether or not millennials really want Jesus. Because if we do then we’re probably going to look more like Paul who gave himself to the church for the sake of Jesus’ sheep. And that doesn’t look much like leaving a church because it doesn’t look like what you want. It looks like staying, and pleading, and praying, and surrendering, and repenting, and changing, and growing, and messing up, and being involved in the yuck of church until the day Jesus returns and we’re all transformed.

So yeah, I’ve got to be honest and say I’m not really concerned with asking a group of millennials what they want out of church. I’ll talk. I’ll listen. But at the end of the day I hope that we both begin to ask what is it that Jesus wants out of the church. And I just bet it will be a little more than a fickle and consumerist commitment to the Bride of His affection.

Should I Still Mourn With Someone Whose Mourning Isn’t Based in Reality?

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”

So what if the person’s weeping is unfounded? Or what if their rejoicing is foolishness? Am I still called to rejoice with them? To weep with them?

It’s pretty easy to say that if some guy is rejoicing because he just had an affair, I should not join in his cheer. Nor should I match the anguish of soul my daughter feels when she skins her knee. Rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep does not necessarily mean matching their emotion.

What I see Paul saying in this verse (and the surrounding context) is that believers ought to have a Christ-consumed heart for others. This means that my heart is so invested in your heart that I ache with you or rejoice with you. My joy is found in your joy. My tears fall when yours do. It is as if the hearts of believers are glued together by the Lord.

This also means that our hearts will be grieved and not glad when a believer rejoices in sin. And we might rejoice—perhaps as somber rejoicing—when the Lord causes a man to weep for his sin and it leads to repentance. Therefore, I say that we must have a Christ-consumed heart for others.

So what about depression?

When a person experiences a dark night of the soul and goes through a period of depression it feels like everything that you are thinking is legit. You feel sad and often do not even know why. There is nothing attached to it. No real reason to mourn. No real reason to be discouraged and faint of heart.

What should a fellow believer do in this case? Am I to mourn with the one that is mourning; even if their mourning is not based on reality?

Yes and No.

Consider Jesus Raising Lazarus

Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus fully knowing that He would raise him from the dead. Death would not be the end of the story on this day. Even after Jesus proclaims, “Your brother will rise again”, there is still weeping and mourning all around him. It is weeping that is not based in reality.

The only tears that should fall at a resurrection are tears of joy. Yet, Mary and Martha and the others have not yet seen the resurrection of Lazarus. They’ve only heard it on Jesus’ lips. They believe him. Oh, how they believe him. But they still ache. They cannot help but mourn.

Now catch Jesus’ response to their sadness:

When Jesus saw [Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit, and greatly troubled…Jesus wept.

Jesus is mourning. But he’s not mourning in the same way that they are. He’s broken by all the sadness around him. He’s weeping because of the cold reality of death and the Fall. He feels it more than anyone else in history has felt it. He created beauty, and therefore he sees fully the harsh reality of life outside Eden. And he weeps.

Then he raises Lazarus from the dead.

Jesus’ weeping is filled with hope and trust. He knows fully that God will be glorified and death will not deal a blow on this day. And He knows that on a dark Friday a short time later, He will deal a decisive blow to death. It will lose its sting.

Their weeping was filled with confusion, darkness, questions, tainted faith, with little flickers of hope. And it is the same way with depressed believers. The mourning of depression is often a hopeless weeping. We dare not join in that. But weep we must.

We weep because depression is not yet conquered. We weep because they are weeping—no matter how distanced from reality. We mourn with them, fully knowing that some day our faith shall be sight and they—along with us—will never be detached from reality again. But we mourn because that’s a not yet.

Mourn we must. But when we are given the grace of sanity and clarity of sight we had better mourn with a hope-filled shout of “Maranatha!”

When You Feel Abandoned by God

It might seem strange counsel but I believe people that are often discouraged and prone to negative thinking need to hear things like this:

God has not abandoned any of us any more than he abandoned Job. He never abandons anyone on whom he has set his love; nor does Christ, the good shepherd, ever lose track of his sheep. It is as false as it is irreverent to accuse God of forgetting, or overlooking, or losing interest in, the state and needs of his own people. If you have been resigning yourself to the thought that God has left you high and dry, seek grace to be ashamed of yourself. Such unbelieving pessimism deeply dishonors our great God and Savior. (J.I. Packer, Knowing God, 88-89)

Doesn’t it feel like we’ve been abandoned at times, though? Doesn’t it feel as if we can pray Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”?

Packer himself likely had times of feeling “left high and dry”. As he recalls in his latest work, Weakness is the Way, Packer was a “solitary and rather somber child”. He “had to wear at school, for ten years, a black aluminum patch covering a hole in [his] head…and hence was unable to play outdoor games.” This, Packer says, left him “feeling out of most of what mattered”. He likely felt Psalm 22;

Forsaken.

Groaning.

Lonely.

Silent.

Scorned.

Mocked.

Weak…

Now to really feel Psalm 22 we have to feel it in its entirety. And that is what the above Packer quote is referencing. It’s right—and in fact quite like Christ—to express Psalm 22:1. But if you leave it there—without embracing the redemption of Psalm 22—you are accusing God of being less than He is.

Though we are the afflicted and we feel that in our bones, at the same time faith beckons us to cry out, “The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied.” Yes, this is true. I know it to be true because Jesus has fulfilled Psalm 22.

And because of this I know that the Great Shepherd will never abandon his sheep…including me. Even if I have engaged in the “unbelieving pessimism” that “deeply dishonors our great God and Savior”.

Jesus is just that great.

Substance in a World Feasting on Silly Things

Today’s guest post comes from Lore Ferguson. Lore’s name is pronounced Lor-ee, but you can call her Lo. She grew up on the east coast, but transplanted to Dallas a few years ago—she’s not from Texas, but Texas wants her anyway (as the song goes). It was the Church that drove her away from Jesus and it was the Church that brought her back in, and there’s nothing she loves more on earth. She writes regularly for The Gospel Coalition, Project TGM,Deeper Church, and most regularly at her blog, Sayable. Lore is a covenant member at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. You can follow her on twitter here:@loreferguson

Paul spoke some words to Timothy running rampant through my mind these days:

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak [or silly] women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. (II Timothy 3:1-9)

Oh. That's rough. Friends, hear me, that is rough.

I'm not harkening the last days or making an assessment on end times. But a lover of self? I am. Proud? I am. Ungrateful? Yes.

Unappeasable? Oh, my. Yes.

Having the appearance of godliness? If only you knew.

But this is the part that guts me inside out: these are the sort of people who creep into households and capture weak women, women who are burdened with sins and led astray by a myriad of passions, women who are hungry for knowledge and never satisfied by truth.

I pause and look around my home. My roommates have just gone to get dinner, leaving me at home for a few minutes of quiet. We are simple folk, with good solid books, a television that rarely gets turned on, no magazine subscriptions, and an old ipod speaker contraption. Our influences are few.

But what captures us the whole world over is an insatiable hunger, an unappeasable thirst, a voracious gnawing for knowledge. This was the lure of the fruit in Genesis 3: "You will be like God, knowing good and evil," and this is the lure still today, "Do this and you will know or be known. Believe this and you will know. Speak this and you will be known as one who knows."

And in the end it's just silliness. Or, as Solomon said, vanity of vanities. A breath, a vapor.

It might surprise you when I say this is not about how women are poor leaders and so I'll follow men instead. I'm not going to say it because I think some women make great leaders and some men make poor leaders.

But I will follow one man in full acknowledgement that I am prone to silly things. I am weak. I am inclined to thirst for an endless pursuit of knowledge than simple answers. I am unappeasable instead of satisfied. I am tempted by offers of fruits and godlikeness. Not because I am a woman, but because the strongest of women knows her deepest of weaknesses.

This isn't about following men because I am weak and need a man. I truly need one man and His name is Jesus Christ, and He was good and gracious enough to surround me with good leaders who are far stronger, far wiser, and far less distracted by silly things than I am. But still, He is my God and my sufficiency, my ever present help in time of need, my cupbearer and my King. He has taken the cup of wrath on my behalf and He has still reserved for me the choicest wine, the sweetest feast.

He alone satisfies my search for substance in a world captured by silly things.

The Gentleness of Jesus

A couple days ago I shared a question that haunts men, young and old. Today, I want to tell you today about how gentle Jesus has been with me.

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At a very early age I developed an unhealthy view of human sexuality. A whole combination of factors caused me to view sex as something that gave someone value and identity. Combine this with easily accessible pornography and the curiosity of young boys and I didn’t stand a chance.

At the age of 15 I committed what felt like the unpardonable sin. And I did it knowingly and willingly. I was not a victim of my circumstances. I knew that I was doing something wrong—but I didn’t care. What I desired more than the pleasure of God was the pleasure of creation. For me it had less to do with sex and more to do with identity and value. I had finally proven to myself, the world, and all my buddies that I wasn’t a loser.

I continued in this downward spiral for a couple of years. Then I was saved by Jesus.

On Being Chocolate Cake 

A flood of guilt washed over me. I sat through youth group lessons where we passed around a piece of chocolate cake where everybody would take a bite. At the end the leader would point to the disgusting looking, crumbled, and barely recognizable piece of cake and say—“who wants a bite now?” Nobody likes a chocolate cake once it has been passed around. In the same way nobody truly wants someone that has been “passed around”.

I was that chocolate cake.

As the gospel began taking root I learned that God starts over and rebuilds cakes. He makes me desirable again. What a relief. I was being built up into something beautiful; something desirable. I was a new creation. My past no longer had to haunt me. I wasn’t that half-eaten chocolate cake anymore. I was a new piece.

Then I fell again.

What now? Would Jesus rebuild that cake? Could I be made whole again? I struggled with all of these questions. And I struggled with them as I was going to school to prepare for ministry. I had a nagging sense of guilt and shame and worthlessness.

During this time I met my future wife. For the past year God had really been shaping me and changing my views of sexuality. I had grown leaps and bounds. But I still had the nagging guilt and the nagging questions. The goal in our relationship was purity. For the first time in my life I was in a relationship dedicated to godliness and purity in this area. I hoped to marry her.

One day in class all of my fears were confirmed. In an ethics class we were discussing sexuality. In that class the professor made this statement: “If you have engaged in sex outside of marriage you have forfeited every chance for a godly marriage!”

There it was. He had given voice to every fear that I had in my heart. I must have turned white as a ghost sitting in my chair, trying to hold back my sobbing. After what felt like an eternity in the purgatory of that Ethics class, we were finally dismissed. I ran back to my dorm room, feeling dirty, ashamed, and hopeless.

Washed

My only refuge felt like taking a shower. And there in the depths of that pain, Jesus welcomed me. The Spirit brought to my mind verses that I had memorized. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus…” “If any man is in Christ he is a new creation, behold the old has gone the new has come”… “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness…”

I hadn’t forfeited any chance for a godly marriage. This was one of the most painful days of my life, but it was necessary. This was the day that I began actually believing that I was accepted. Had that professor not voiced that hellish view I doubt I would have been brave enough to confront those feelings below.

For the next several months I grew in understanding who I really am in Christ Jesus. The past seemed to lose its grip on me. During this time I married the girl that I supposedly had forfeited. In my case, true love didn’t wait—I blew it time and time again—but the Lord still provided for me the helpmate that he had created for me years before.

I’d be lying if I said that things from the past didn’t still occasionally haunt me, and those feelings of guilt and shame creep up from time to time. Like when I felt certain that the Lord would have my son be born with some sort of disease, just to teach me a lesson that sin has consequences. Jesus rescued me from those dumb thoughts as well.

It took years (maybe I should say it is taking years) for me to really feel and believe that I am deeply accepted and loved by Jesus. But I am and that truth is pretty firmly established in my heart.

End of story…right?

If you have stuck around—and I hope you have—this is actually where I show the gentleness of Jesus. It took about ten years for the Lord to uproot those feelings of guilt and shame from my past sin.

He began His gospel work by firmly planting my identity in Himself. By helping me see that I am forgiven…no matter what. That I am accepted by Him…no matter what. It took times of pain for him to accomplish this, but He has done it well. At times I’ve been brought to what felt like the pit only to be met with His loving acceptance.

Once he firmly established in my heart His love for me, THEN he began some deep gospel work. For almost ten years he didn’t really confront the idolatry in my heart. He very gently assured me of His love and care…

And then he started ripping me to shreds.

He started killing me. Rocking my worldview. Exposing my faulty identity. Taking it all away until I had nothing left. I had developed a view that I was sexually pure because I didn’t do the bad stuff. Through the Lord’s help I had conquered sexual immorality, pornography, and all of that. That is to be celebrated, but not rested upon. He kicked down this self-righteousness as well.

Purity isn’t simply not doing the bad stuff—it’s so much more. And here I began seeing that for ten years the Lord convinced me that He wants that tattered and broken and detestable chocolate cake. Once I became convinced of this the Lord gently began his work of throwing away that old cake and rebuilding something whole and new in its place.

The throwing away hurts. So does the rebuilding. But He has done it and is doing it. With the delicacy of a surgeon, the love of a Father, the gentleness of a Mother, the tenderness of a doting Husband, and the power of a resurrected Messiah, the Lord is making me whole.

The Ideal Disciple

Imagine Jesus standing before you. As your head moves towards the sound of His voice you are astonished to hear these words:

What do you want me to do for you?

Put yourself there. Hear his words to you. How would you answer that question?

In Mark 10, James and John answered that question by essentially saying, “make us epic”. In their case Jesus’ question was provoked by their demand, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you”. They respond by telling Jesus that they wanted to sit at the His right and left hand—having a special place of honor.

A blind beggar, named Bartimaeus, answered that question differently. He simply says, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight”. Whereas the sons of Thunder wanted to be epic, Bartimaeus simply wants to be normal.

The Ideal Disciple

I’m convinced that Mark has placed these two stories together to highlight Bartimaeus as an ideal disciple: one who is desperate and sees Jesus as his only refuge. When you don’t realize how utterly inadequate and miserable your condition is, you say dumb things like, “make me epic”. Or, “yeah, we can drink the cup of suffering—we’ve got what it takes, Jesus”. And then you go back and fight with the other disciples about who Jesus loves the most.

Not so with Bartimaeus. He is desperate. And this gospel account would have us notice that Jesus “stops” for the forlorn. When you read something like, “And Jesus stopped…” you ought to stop as well. His face is set like flint to Jerusalem. This narrative is on the heels of the triumphal entry. Stopping Jesus at this point is like stopping a jet cruising down the runway ready for flight—if it stops it is for a good reason.

God wants us to know that He stops for desperate people crying out for rescue.

Bartimaeus fits that bill. He is so desperate that a crowd full of people telling him to shut up doesn’t deter him. He must have Jesus. This blind beggar has recognized what so few people in Mark’s narrative could see—that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah that is overturning the works of darkness. Rather than striving for a seat of honor in Jesus’ kingdom, blind Bartimaeus just wants a seat.

This narrative screams a question out to us: “which type of disciple are you?”

In reality I am as Bartimaeus; desperate, destitute, no hope to be found except in Jesus. But do I recognize it? Does my prayer life reflect the cries and panting of an impoverished beggar or the smug request of a fool that only sees Jesus as a means to being epic?

The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and so he is still asking today, “What do you want me to do for you?”

I pray that we answer as desperate Bartimaeus-type disciples.

The Stooping Christ and Social Media

“…their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord.” –Nehemiah 3:5

All of the returning exiles were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Everybody is wearing a tool belt and getting their hands dirty. Nobody is immune from serving…except for the nobles of the Tekoites. Not these guys. These guys are leaders. Leaders lead, they don’t stoop.

Nehemiah is already leading this gig, so the only position left along the wall is to strap on a tool belt and get to work. The nobles are obviously above doing such a menial job. They remind me of Michael Scott, from The Office.

In an early episode, a sensitivity trainer (Mr. Brown) has to come to the office because of an offensive Chris Rock joke that Michael retold. Mr. Brown very kindly puts the entire office through the training so as not to single out Michael. Towards the end of the episode we are informed that the only signature needed is that of Michael Scott, yet he refuses to sign. His reason?

“I can’t sign this because I didn’t learn anything. I could maybe sign something that says that I taught something”.

Michael Scott couldn’t stoop.

Jesus does.

One of the most astonishing claims of the Bible is that God Himself took upon human flesh. He not only “made himself nothing” by taking on human flesh, but he also “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death”. And this was no ordinary death, this was “even death on a cross”. Jesus, the King of all kings, the most noble of all nobles, would stoop to any depth to serve the Father.

Do we?

There is a common theme that I observe on Twitter that bothers me. I fear that some pastors today are following the way of the Tekoite nobles instead of the way of Jesus. They appear to be more concerned with being epic than with stooping to serve.

Everyday Twitter dutifully informs me that I have new “followers”. Almost every day I am followed by a leader-man that is obviously destined to be epic. He’s got a rockin’ ministry name. His hair is amazing. His smile could win a beauty pageant. Everything about this guy screams out that he is put together. His bio reads something like this:

Pastor. Disciple of Jesus. A leader that leads other leaders to lead others into Awesomeness. I’m a leader. I encourage others. Check out my website: awesomeleadershelpingawesomeleaders.com

I’m expected to follow Captain Awesome. When I don’t (and I seldom do) then I am quickly unfollowed. I’m not cheesed by them dropping me; I’ve learned to grow content with whatever audience the Lord gives me. But this pattern bothers me still.

For one, it bothers me because I see my own heart in these descriptions. I write so much against “being epic” because deep within me is a drive to be a difference maker. This is an idol that the Lord is uprooting from my heart. So, I’m sensitive to this.

Secondly, it makes me throw up in my mouth a little because it is so opposite the way of Jesus. Doing things like following a ton of people so as to get re-followed might be winning the social media game, but I’m convinced that it’s a wrong-hearted focus that looks more like a Tekoite noble than our humble Messiah. 

It is my prayer that we might use social media to help us become more like Christ and not less. I pray that pastors, ministers, and disciples of every ilk increasingly become more like Christ and less like nobles that refuse to stoop.

A Ridiculous News Story

Go read this article and be amazed….but come back!

Man Dead For 40 Minutes Brought Back to Life With New CPR Technique.

You should be amazed by that. People aren’t supposed to come back from the dead after being gone for so long. This is an amazing testament of God’s grace that we could advance in medicine so far that things like this can happen.

Through putting in a non-invasive cardiac support pump doctors are able to move blood throughout the body through manual compressions. It’s quite the ordeal but it is proving to be effective at saving a life even after being dead for 40 minutes.

Now go read John 11.

Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days. Dude was already buried and starting to stink. Then Jesus arrived.

With no medical equipment.

With no CPR.

With no techniques.

Only His voice.

“Lazarus, come out!!!”

And Lazarus walks out wearing grave clothes. I can see the headlines in the next mornings Bethany Gazette: Man Dead For 4 Days Brought Back to Life by Man’s Voice.

Yeah, be amazed! Especially since he promises to do it again someday…and this time worldwide!

Why Believers Have No Reason to Follow Chicken Little

You are likely familiar with the story of Chicken Little (or Henny Penny). A little chicken has an acorn fall on his head and starts to believe that the sky is falling. On his way to tell the king he incites fear in all of his other fowl friends, they join his quest to warn the king. Eventually they meet up with Foxy Loxy. He pretends to be on their team but uses their fear to get them into his lair were he eats every last one of them.

There are many Chicken Little’s in our world, and just as many Foxy Loxy’s that use fear to fill their stomachs. Sadly, many believers fall prey to this fear-mongering. When we follow Chicken Little on his quest we betray our bad theology.

Now some will say, “Mike, the sky really is falling. Look at our world. We really are living in perilous times. Chicken Little’s got a point. He sees it with his own eyes and if I’m being honest I see it with mine as well. We had better do something about this before it is too late!”

To this I say, “So what if Chicken Little is correct?” Responding in fear only reveals a lack of trust in the One that is on the throne.

The King is Sovereign Over History

In Revelation 5 you see that Jesus Christ is the only one that is able to open the scroll. This means that He is the only one that is sovereign over history. He holds history in His hand. He is sovereign over everything. There is not one speck of dust that falls outside of His sovereign rule. There is not one square inch of creation that He cannot cry out “this is mine”.

Barack Obama (or any Republican in his place) does not move history. Kim Jong Un does not move history. No world leader moves history. Those that reject Christ, persecute Christians, and even the Antichrist himself does not move history. Those that mock us and those that overturn godly principles in our nation do not move history. They are not on the throne. They do not determine our course. Jesus Christ does. Our fears, our failures, and our inadequacy also does not move history or stall history. Jesus stands over every bit of it.

If Jesus is sovereign over history, and He is, fear is ridiculous. Chicken Little serves a king that needs to be told the sky is falling. We serve the King that rules history…even when the sky starts to fall. Therefore we don’t need to join his quest to tell the King. The King already knows and He is orchestrating it all for His glory. (See Colossians 1)

What then? Passivity?

Our response to a falling sky shouldn’t be fear. But it also shouldn’t be passivity. The believers in Thessalonica had a case of the Chicken Little’s. They believed that they end was going to happen any day (or even that Christ had already returned). Their response to such news was to sit back and idly let Jesus come and set all things right. To this Paul says, “WRONG!”

But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage on another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

The sky may be falling but the sovereign Lord of history means it for our good. There’s no need to go running to the King and telling Him that His universe is collapsing. He knows what is happening and He radically dedicated to your good and His glory. Trust Him.

And while you live out your life trusting Him, edify your fellow believers and share the gospel with those that are perishing. Not because we need them to keep the sky from falling but because Christ is in the business of rooting out of His world all sin and unbelief and replacing it with passionate worshippers. You want to be on that side of history. 

Some day the sky will fall (at least figuratively) but it will be at the King’s behest. Let’s live out our lives in obedience to the King and not follow Chicken Little when he tells us that the sky is falling. When he gives us his sobering news that the sky is falling and that he is going to tell the king, let’s stop him in his tracks. And let’s share how we know the King, and that He is very good and He is sovereign over history.

Yes, the sky is falling…and Jesus is very good.

Jews Didn’t Have Coffee Mugs

Okay I cannot prove that the ancient Hebrews did not have coffee mugs. But I do know that if they did they would not put Bible verses on them the same way that we do.

If I paint Philippians 4:13 in eye black and go out and play a tremendous game of church league softball, you know the statement that I’m making. I’m saying “I can do all things [like kick your tail in softball] through him who strengthens me.” End quote.

That is not the case with the way that the New Testament writers would quote the Old Testament. When Jesus says from the Cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” He is reciting a Psalm and calling to mind that entire Psalm. In the same way when Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 and says, “the righteous shall live by faith” he is thinking of the entire argument of Habakkuk.

This should revolutionize the way that we study our Bibles. When you read something in the New Testament (or even in the Old Testament) that has an allusion to a prior passage these guys aren’t just proof texting; they are proof-storying. They are thinking of the entire context of the passage that they are quoting.

What this means for Bible study (and for sermon prep for us preachers) is that when we discover a passage that has an earlier allusion we had better go back and pick up the entire argument of the passage cited. We do that because this is what the inspired author (say Paul) is doing when he is quoting it. He’s not just reminding us of that sweet passage on our coffee mug, he’s telling us a story.

Example:

The best example of this is probably Jesus’ use of Psalm 22 from the cross. Psalm 22 was a lament for the innocent sufferer. It perfectly fits Jesus’ situation. When He cries out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He is thinking of the entire Psalm. A Psalm which actually points to the vindication of the sufferer.

Does this mean that Jesus was not forsaken by the Father? Not necessarily. Or does this mean that Jesus does not feel the full weight of an innocent one enduring suffering? Absolutely not. If anyone could rightly cry out Psalm 22 it is Jesus. And he feels the full weight of every sentence. But we should remember that it’s not only the cry of dereliction (v1) that Jesus feels, but also the notes of hope that resound throughout the passage.

Jesus will be vindicated. He knows this. While he might feel abandoned—and the full weight of abandonment—He is also trusting in the God who vindicates the innocent. He knows the end of the story.

When he cries out Psalm 22:1 he isn’t doing that because he remembered that verse in AWANA and feels like that verse fits. Nor is Matthew putting it on his lips because he thinks it fulfills verse 1 of Psalm 22. Jesus is crying Psalm 22:1 (and Matthew frames his 27th chapter around that Psalm) because he is telling the story of the entire Psalm.

Lesson:

When you see a verse quoted don’t assume that they quoted verses the same way that we do. Consider the entire context of the Old Testament passage that is quoted. And pack all of that into the one verse that they are quoting. When someone that lived in the age of Jesus quoted a verse they were thinking of the entire passage and it’s argument. We should do the same.

How to Defend Your Faith Against Secularism

I’ve got a handful of young men that I have the opportunity to disciple. They are on the frontlines in their school. Every day they are sandwiched between cultural Catholicism and the godless presuppositions of secularism. I’m grateful that the Lord is working in the hearts of these young men. Recently they came to my office and asked if I could help them defend their faith.

How I’m going about doing this might seem counterintuitive. My philosophy comes from Charles Spurgeon:

“Defend the Bible? Would you defend a lion? Loose him; and let him go!”…The way to meet infidelity is to spread the Bible. The answer to every objection against the Bible is the Bible.

Rather than focusing on a host of current issues and answers to tough questions my goal will be to teach these students the Scriptures. I want unleash the lion. If these young men are captivated by the God of the Bible then I don’t need to worry about sticky questions destroying their faith.

Furthermore, if the Scriptures really are the means that God uses to bring about conversion I can have confidence that these young men will be used by God to influence their fellow students. They don’t need to enter into endless arguments that are really no more than a smoke screen for the true issue of human rebellion. I want them to know that the chief problem for scoffers isn’t an intellectual problem but a moral one.

Sure we’ll address issues like evolution, human sexuality, and everything else. But these will not happen with the Bible on defense. This will happen with the Bible on offense—unleashed to shake up our lives and draw us to King Jesus. Then humble young men, captivated by Jesus, will be equipped to share the risen Christ in the face of aggressive secularism.

Friends, we don’t need to spend an inordinate amount of time defending the Bible. Let’s simply have the Scriptures do it’s work in our own hearts and keep digging until the Lord rips to shreds every last remnant of sin and unbelief. And while the Lord is doing this let us humbly engage a culture with the unleashed Lion of the Tribe of Judah that is powerful enough to draw any man or woman to Himself no matter how obstinate.

Traded Everything for Love?

I stumbled across this photo last week and it captivated me. There is beauty in the simplicity of it.

Here is Jesus. Homeless. Tattered clothes. With the reason for his condition scrawled out on a dirty piece of cardboard: “Traded everything for love”.

The passerby would be left to wonder—what did this guy trade? How marvelous must this beauty be that he would make himself homeless to have her be his? What magnificent love must this man have…

When you fill in the details of the story with the gospel narrative the passerby would be even more astonished. To realize that the one he traded everything for isn’t some captivating beauty but an unfaithful harlot that has made herself haggardly from her rebellion. Now the passerby begins to grasp the depth of His love and the glory of His character.

What a phenomenal picture of the Story behind all stories. 

But is it true?

In one sense it is an absolutely beautiful and true picture of the incarnation. When he walked the earth he had no place to lay his head. He was as a homeless man. And all of this was because of love—love for His bride and Love for His Father.

I believe that the statement “Traded Everything for Love” comes from Philippians 2:6-8

…who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Love compelled Jesus to “take the form of a servant” by “taking upon himself human flesh”. Do you notice what is missing from Philippians 2, though? He didn’t “trade everything in”. Yes he “made himself nothing”. But he did not stop being God when He became man. This is the wonder of the incarnation. God became flesh but He didn’t cease being Deity.

This isn’t a City of Angels type of story. The pre-existent Son of God did not drop this identity and become a mere human. He remained the pre-existent Son of God but he took upon human flesh.

This is good news.

Our redemption is tied up in the fact that Jesus did not “trade everything” for love. The incarnation is only a means to the greater end of “reconciling all things to himself”, creating a people for himself, overturning the works of the devil, and ultimately restoring everything in the new heavens and the new earth. He doesn’t do this simply by becoming a man. He does this because He is the God-man.

So did Jesus “trade everything for love”? Kind of…but not really.

Knowing the Creep’s Name…Two Years Later

Our sermon this morning was on Romans 8:12-17. Tonight in our Life Groups we will talk even more about the beauty of adoption. All of this reminded me of something amazing the Lord was doing in my life a couple years ago.

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Driving to class this morning I was rocking out to 100.5 Gen-X (Hopefully, it’s okay that I listen to secular music on my way to seminary).  One of my favorite songs from my teenage years came on, Creep by Radiohead:

When you were here before
Couldn't look you in the eye
You're just like an angel
Your skin makes me cry

You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You're so very special

Chorus:

But I 'm a creep
I 'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here

I don't care if it hurts
I want to have control
I want a perfect body
I want a perfect soul

I want you to notice
When I'm not around
You're so very special
I wish I was special

CHORUS

She's running out again
She's running out
She run, run, run run
Run

Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You're so very special
I wish I was special

CHORUS

In the original version of this song the word “very” is replaced by the F-bomb.  This is an angry song about a young man that has a crush on a girl but he really does not feel like he is good enough for her.  At the end of the day he wishes that he was special like her.  “I want you to notice when I’m not around” is perhaps the most telling lyric.  This young man feels insignificant and unnoticed.  He would sacrifice his own identity just to be someone that would be liked. 

This song is the cry of my generation.  At least it is the cry of my own heart.  Growing up I always felt this way.  Maybe it was the necessary result of being a short kid with big ears and glasses.  Maybe it has deeper familial issues at the core.  I feel this song.  Check that, I felt this song. 

Actually my wife and I had a conversation about this last night.  Since my identity is being rocked to the core right now—rewind about 6 months and you will see why—we have these conversations often. 

For most of my life I have had a deep desire to be noticed.  Not necessarily in a “look at me, I’m the center of attention” type of way.  More so in a, “Hi, Mike I’m glad that you exist” type of way.  For years I killed parts of me that were “unacceptable”.  I became whatever people wanted me to be.  “Whatever makes you happy, whatever you want”.

Thankfully, God is healing me.  Last night I wept after reflecting upon a different song.  It’s a song that has grabbed my attention before.  But last night I realized why it ministers to me so much:

I hope that this ministers to you.  I pray that the way the Lord is comforting me will be a comfort to you.  It’s my prayer that as the Lord continues to heal my brokenness that he may also use it. 

If you read through this and cannot relate then that’s awesome.  Please allow me to give you a ministry tip.  You don’t heal a “creep” by convincing him you think he’s special.  You heal a “creep” by letting him know that the One who lifts up the sun, hangs the stars, and holds the universe lovingly knows the number of his hairs.  That heals brokenness. 

Originally posted here.

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Two years later I’m continuing to uncover even more about myself. And I’m finding that in every spot where there is brokenness the Lord is pushing through with His holiness and redemption.

All of this because I’m his adopted son. He won’t leave me reflecting my fallen identity. He won’t stop until I’m truly living in my new name.

Truths in the Midst of Brokenness

When I go through a period where my brokenness seems to shine brighter than my redemption, I try to remember these truths*:

• He knows what I need (Matthew 6:8)…even when I haven’t a clue.
• It is His character to generously give (James 1:5)…even when I’m most undeserving.
• He didn’t spare His Son for me (Romans 8:32)…even though I didn’t ask Him to, or desire for Him to do this.
• He has provided the Spirit to intercede on my behalf when I don’t have the words to pray (Romans 8:26)…and even when my emotions don’t know how to feel.
• He promises we will lack no good thing (Psalm 34:9-10)…even though I cry out that I’m empty.
• He knows my frame, he remembers that I’m dust (Psalm 103:14)…in the times when I feel lower than dirt or more confident than I ought.
• He doesn’t break bruised reeds, or quench smoldering wicks (Matthew 12:20)…even if that is exactly what I would do.
• No one can snatch me out of His hand (John 10:28-29)…even if I try to leap out of His grasp.
• He is not ashamed to call me brother, or son (Hebrews 2:11, Romans 8:15) …even when I feel bastardly
• He has brought me near by His blood and placed me into His family, His body, His church (Ephesians 2:11-22)…even when I’m the crazy uncle.

These are but a few of the truths that I cling to. It’s a great reminder that it little matters what I write on the other side of those periods. It is as Bunyan said, “I saw that it is not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness IS Christ.”

I’m glad to have an anchor.

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*These are worded in an individualistic way because I have found that to be most helpful. If I say “us, you, them” then I don’t personalize them and I assume that the promises are for someone else.

Is the Fundamental Message of Jesus, Love and Tolerance?

I keep hearing that the fundamental message of Jesus was that of love and tolerance. Of course by “love and tolerance” what is meant is that Jesus affirms us as we are. His message is cast against the jerky Pharisees that were all concerned with truth and the Bible and stuff like that. Jesus taught that instead we ought to just love one another as we are.

Now don’t get me wrong. Jesus did teach love. Jesus is love. And he was also tolerant. Provided that you have the proper definition of tolerance. But is this really the central message of Jesus? I mean, if Jesus’ is preaching love and tolerance how does He say something like this:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. –Mt. 10:34-36

“Simple”, says Jesus Seminar type folks. “It’s not part of the authentic message of Jesus”. The Jesus Seminar is old news, but it’s effects have trickled down into our culture and has even infiltrated our congregations. In case you aren’t familiar, the Jesus Seminar was a group of 150 critical scholars tasked with trying to separate the Christ of history with the Christ of faith. In other words these dudes are going to tell us which part of our Bible’s we ought to believe and which ones we shouldn’t.

The Black Beads

The ones that they voted on as authentic would receive a red bead. The ones that were positively not to be accepted got a black bead. (There were pink and grey beads for the possibilities in between). Guess which sayings of Jesus were the ones that got the red beads? I’ll give you a clue, Matthew 10:34-36 didn’t make the cut. The ones that did are the ones in which Jesus speaks of love and tolerance. Which have I mentioned is part of the message of Jesus?

The problem, though, is that what emerges from the Jesus Seminar—and any similar activity where we vote on Jesus—is that what emerges is not a Jesus that demands anything from us. What emerges is a Jesus of our own creation. That’s why I’m not shocked when people say they love Jesus but not the church. Of course they do, they created him. The church—that’s another thing altogether.

One Question

This leaves me with one question for Jesus Seminar type folks. Why do you suppose they crucified Jesus? Was it because they were stuck in their religiosity and they couldn’t handle his liberal and tolerant views? So, then, did the religious leaders drum up charges of heresy and blasphemy?

Of course the Scriptures say that he was crucified for saying things like, “Before Abraham was I AM”. But those Scriptures are certainly not authentic messages of Jesus. Which leads me to another question...(so I guess I have more than one). Why in the world did the followers of Jesus propagate the message that the Jewish religious leaders made up? Why were they also killed for teaching Jesus as the Messiah the rightful King of the Jews? Why do you suppose it took some 2000 years of church history before people would actually recover the authentic message of Jesus?

Isn’t it possible that the reason why Jesus was crucified, the reason why they picked up stones to do away with Him, was that He actually claimed to be God incarnate? You see the cultural Jesus—that preaches only love and tolerance is not any different than us and therefore demands nothing of us. The biblical Jesus, on the other hand, not only gets Himself crucified but bids His followers to come and die as well. And you don’t get that by teaching a love and tolerance which exalts man and demands nothing.

When Jesus Looks Like a Failed King

And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”

I don’t blame John for his question. Actually I identify with it. Sitting in a discouraging prison, looking upon a world that seems the opposite of Jesus’ rule, shaking his head wondering if maybe this isn’t the Mighty One that would baptize with the Spirit.

I wonder what John thought the world would look like once the Mighty One began His reign? Did he picture rejoicing throughout the land? Did he believe that Jesus would quickly overthrow his enemies and put justice in its place? Certainly he did not envision himself shackled by a wicked Roman ruler.

I understand why he asked that question. John’s world didn’t look like one painted by the Loving Messiah. It looked the opposite. And that discouraged him and caused him to question everything he knew to be true. I understand John’s question because I have asked it myself.

Is Jesus really overturning darkness? Is he really the One that He says that He is? John’s prison stay caused him to question Jesus’ identity and the validity of His reign.

A different prison

Fast forward a couple decades. A follower of Jesus, named Paul, is housed in a prison much like John the Baptist. Here is his response:

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel…Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

Rather than seeing his prison time as a hindrance to the kingdom of God, Paul saw it as a beautiful plan. You see, Paul wasn’t chained to a Roman guard in prison. A Roman guard was chained to the gospel. And once his shift changed a new unsuspecting victim would be handcuffed to Paul, who would then lovingly proclaim the gospel of Jesus.

Paul was able to see the reign of the Mighty One through prison bars. John saw it as defeat. My natural tendency is to be more like John the Baptist. (I am a Baptist, after all). I tell my daughter to watch out for the thorns while she smells a rose. I’m prone to darkness and discouragement. But the gospel transforms our natural tendencies.

The difference Maker

The difference between John the Baptist and the apostle Paul is the resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit. I live in the age of Paul’s prison—not in the excuse of John’s.

Jesus’ answer to John is the same to use today. “Look…darkness is being overturned”. He’s also saying, “…blessed is the one who is not offended by me”. Which means, “blessed is the one that trusts me in prison instead of questioning my identity and the validity of my reign, just because I’m accomplishing my kingdom purposes in a way that flies in the face of everything you expected me to do”.

God is overturning your darkness and the darkness of our world. At times it doesn’t look like it, but that prison cell might be the very means that God uses to shovel dirt onto a defeated devil.

Why Ministers Need the Wilderness

“It takes a crucified man to preach a crucified Savior.” –Alexander Maclaren

“I abhor the thought of God being robbed of his glory…” That was part of the response that a young man was giving in one of my seminary classes. I shudder as I type the latter part of his comment. “…and if that means the damnation of infants then so be it”.

It’s not my concern to throw this dude under the bus. Truthfully, I see some of myself in him. Getting so wrapped in theology, idealism, and the way things ought to be that I forget the way that things actually are. Grace will likely grab hold of this young man and transform him. Jesus has a way of doing that. While we roll our eyes at statements like this (and maybe rightly so) Jesus moves in and administers grace. Grace that crushes…but grace still.

I was concerned that day as I thought about this young man pastoring a church. I was worried for him and for his congregation. Mostly because broken men don’t say things like that. Even if it were theologically true, broken men just don’t speak like that. As I’ve gone through seminary for a few years now I am becoming convinced that students should have to spend at least one semester in the furnace of suffering before we can graduate.

Jesus was 30…

And he didn’t start his public ministry until he was in the wilderness. The wilderness is necessary. As are the wilderness temptations. There in his, dare I say, weakness, Jesus was confronted with the full onslaught of hell.

• Would he trust in God’s sufficient Word or would he rely on a quicker fix?
• Would he plod along God’s redemptive (though rocky) road or would he sell-out to the flash?
• Would he remain faithful to serving the Lord, careful to follow the God-ordained means or would he take the shortcut with no suffering?

Jesus conquered Gethsemane and embraced the Cross because he had already won that victory in the wilderness. The same applies to ministers today. It is in the wilderness that we learn to rely upon the Lord, to trust His narrow and often frightening path.

A broken minister

When the Lord bruises a man in the wilderness he doesn’t hide behind “correct theology” and call it “just speaking the truth”. He, with dust in his throat, simply holds the hand of the mother who lost her infant. He weeps with her. With nothing to say. No sermon to give. No lesson to be learned. No pontificating about the Lord’s glory. A broken man knows how to be silent and speak with only his empathetic brokenness.

Seminaries and churches that are training ministers ought to be careful about unleashing an unbroken man onto a congregation. Put him in the wilderness for awhile. Ministers need the wilderness.

You Deserve This Post

Finally. After 31 years of trying to convince people someone finally gets it. I am awesome and I deserve awesome things. This was confirmed to me in an email sent by Marriott, the luxurious* hotel chain. According to these dudes I’m entitled to a spa, a weekend stay, chocolates, and a bunch of other goodies. The subject of the email was simple: YOU DESERVE THIS.

Darn right, I do, Marriott. And I deserve one of those sweet cozy bath robes too.

Of course the jokers said at the bottom of the email that it would cost a few dead presidents for me to obtain the reward for my awesomeness. Nevertheless, I am feeling pretty good about myself after reading this email. Now two people—the secretary for Marriott’s CEO and my wife—agree that I’m pretty amazing.

Actually this is not a new message. I have been hearing this message since I was old enough to hear messages. I was told that I deserved A’s in school. And I got awards just for showing up. My cartoon shows told me that I could be anything that I wanted to be. I deserve success. Whilst pounding down McNuggets in the late 80’s I was reassured by Ronald that “I deserve a break today…” The health clinic down the road tells me that I also deserve to be healthy. I deserve an amazing house. Apparently I deserve that Camaro down the street (and not apparently my 2000 Oldsmobile Alero).

Thank you world, for recognizing what I’ve known all along! I’m amazing simply because I suck air.

I know that you are wondering what my next amazing trick is going to be. So I will tell you. Why? Because YOU deserve it, that’s why! My next trick will be to reinterpret this verse:

Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’.

Not cool, Jesus. I deserve to be thanked. I deserve to be applauded. Doesn’t he understand that if I have such a negative view of myself (unworthy servant) that I will not be able to do all of my awesome stuff? How can I possibly love other people if I’m not enamored with myself first?

This verse has to go.

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Keep in mind that “luxurious” to an associate pastor raised in a town with a population of less than 1,000 will tend to be different than those of you that have actually experienced luxury.

How to Rock Twitter Like a Pharisee

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 6:1 ESV)

I wonder what it would look like if the Pharisees had a Twitter account. It would probably look a little like this:

Maybe it isn’t so hard to imagine…

There is a fine line between facebragging and giving God-honoring information. I’ve been working through taking the log out of my own eye before attempting to take the specs out of my brothers and sisters.

I started out by making a list of a few rules for determining if it’s God-honoring or facebragging. Then I realized that sounds too much like what a Pharisee would do. In reality it all comes down to my heart. Am I posting stuff in the hopes you’ll wake up to my awesomeness or to somehow praise the Lord and point to Him?

Here is the central question: Do I want to be seen by men or do I want to be a window by which people see the beauty of Jesus?

That is a question that I want to ask myself before I tweet things that tip-toe towards facebragging.

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By the way that “My new ride” link works.

I should also mention that Twister is a crazy fun way of creating fake tweets like the ones above.