I Hold the Light

This will be a short one because it is Christmas, so go have Christmas! 

The Light has come into the world. The Light came to us in the form of a baby. He grew to be a man so that he could reach out to his creation. He humbled himself to become like his creatures though he himself is God. This is the miracle of Christmas. Now he has returned to the Father but he left us behind to shine in his place. Do you hold his light?

Similar to a lightsaber we can wield it or not. We can use it or not. We can hide it or not. The new Starwars was so good I had to have another entry mention it. 

We shine but does it illumine? They want to call our light darkness. We live in an age that calls darkness light. The Light came into the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. The darkness does not overcome it. So the darkness tries to redefine it.

John 3:19-21
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

Jesus says he is the light that shines in the darkness he shines and those who follow will not walk in darkness. 

The darkness is not however overwhelming. 

As Jesus commands in Mathew Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. He tells us that we are a city on  hill that guides the people home. 
 
Psalm 18:28 
For it is you who light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

Jesus teaches that he is the light of the world and that the world is consumed in darkness. But he has passed the baton to us. We hold the light. We shine. What a huge privilege and responsibility. We reflect his radiance, at least we are supposed to. There is another option. We can hide it under a basket. Or perhaps we can attempt to let the light shine but while is it turned to dim. 

I want to shine. I want to shine as light is meant to, with abandon. This is light unfiltered, unobstructed, unrestricted, uncovered. 

Light extinguishes darkness. Darkness does not stand in the light. The light is not the issue, but the bearer is. The challenge of being a light beaer is that our world wants to call the darkness light. They want to call our light as the darkness. But that is easy to counter because light will always extinguish darkness. Truth will always win out, even while the shadow grows. But as we move forward sometime we are tempted to reconsider our light. Maybe we have been told that our light is not loving or not helpful. This is why we return to the source of the light so that he can recharge and inform us. Jesus says in John 8:12 That those that follow him will not walk in darkness. He can give testimony that what he says is true. Man's faithlessness does not cause him to be unfaithful. As Paul writes "Let God be true and every man a liar." Our failure to be light and the world's failure to recognize the light does not in any way undermine the light. 

As Jesus taught our good deeds put to shame the foolishness of men. The truest way for good deeds to be shone is in doing it for our brother or neighbor. The good Samaritan's good deeds could not be denied by the haters. His conduct pointed to a more excellent way, his light shined and the darkness could not stand before it. In first John we are reminded that if we walk in the light as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another and his love cleanses us from out sins. 

My good deeds in isolation do not speak much. It is as they find testimony in others. Others can look on and say that God is good. This is why the New Testament tells us to love and serve and do good deeds especially to the brotherhood. To the fellow believers. They can testify to the goodness of God where as someone else can write it off as charity. This doesn't ignore others absolutely not, but the light shines, and we overcome by our testimony. This is why Peter tells us we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation so we will display praises to God who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. 

The time of Christmas is reflective of this truth. God led the wise men by the light of a star to find the true king. We see that God in his mercy has reached out to us as well. He provides grace, he gave of himself for the purpose of others. This is why we at Christmas time do so as well. We give because we were given to. We love because he first loved us and gave himself as a ransom for many. As Luke writes in Acts 13:47 it is true for us well. "I have placed you as light for the gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth."

So your lightsaber, is it out?

We give gifts after our Father in heaven so go and do likewise. Arise shine for the light has come and the glory of the Lord will rise upon you. Merry Christmas.

thanks

to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/From-Darkness-To-Light#sthash.3XTUhLiF.dpuf

for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/From-Darkness-To-Light#sthash.3XTUhLiF.dpuf

for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/From-Darkness-To-Light#sthash.3XTUhLiF.dpuf

for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light - See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/From-Darkness-To-Light#sthash.3XTUhLiF.dpuf

Stuck in a Delay

I Recently I flew to my hometown Tucson and wouldn't you know it? I finally had that terrible airport experience that you often hear about.

First my plane was delayed a bit, no problem, only a half hour, happens all the time. We were supposed to leave st 7:25 so I sent needed text of my new arrival time. A lady came and tagged my bag and then walked away, my small bag would now have to be checked, OK. Then after we boarded and sat for five minutes we were told to deplane because of maintenance issues. I was told I couldn't have my bag back that they just took, I doubted it was even under the plane yet. We were then directed to another airplane many gates away that we for some silly reason thought we had to rush too, I was hungry. I sent the respective text again so they wouldn't arrive too early and have to wait. I grabbed a small snack.

We sat and sat and then at 9 they told us we were waiting for a crew. At 10 they told us we were still waiting for one. At 11:30 they told us plane was cancelled. At midnight they told us to get out of line and go to hotels and call to reschedule. At one I finally got through the line and rescheduled my flight for 7 the next morning.

I then had the decision to stay in the airport without my checked bag or go retrieve it and stay in the hotel I received a voucher for.  I decided a change, a phone charge, and a hotel was better. When I reached the bag check they told me it was closed and I could come back at 5 to get my bag. So deflated I went to find the free shuttle to my hotel, but that also had stopped running. So I split a taxi with the other unfortunate souls in my position and took a two hour nap at the hotel. I came back at 5 to get my bag as I had been informed that my bag would still travel to Tucson even though my new flight was for Phoenix. The bag lady told me I could not get it until 6 but by then I needed to be at the other end of the airport to check in, this was at O'hare in Chicago.

I decided to reroute my bag to phoenix and then walk all the way back across the terminals to my new airline with no bag and still no food. Time was so tight that I couldn't use the vouchers for free food which I discovered I had left back i  the hotel. When I finally did board at 7:45am the flight was a no food flight and I was tired. My new connection flight in Houston left me no time to eat either, I literally had to run to the already boarded plane. The best part about all of that was that I was flying to an interview and they were picking me up, un-showered, un-eaten and un-rested and unchanged. Awesome.

They asked me later if I would blog about it and I said I would. This isn't a complaint to the airline as many people said I should make but it did get me thinking.

Psalm 37:23 and 24 says

The steps of a man are established by the Lord; when he delights in his way, though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.

This crooked path reminded me of my life. When I make plans my projected path is much straighter than this was. My foreseeable hiccups accounted for and strictly avoided. There is nothing like a plan coming together but that path rarely happens when walking with God. God seems to have another plan in mind.

He seems to be more interested in the shortest path to him not the shortest path to my objective. The quickest way to him sometimes seems to be through trial. When I need help I turn to him. It causes me to grow.

When Kimberly and I were first married we decided to honeymoon in Florida so of course we decided to go Disney world. While we were visiting I wanted to visit Typhoon Lagoon, Disney's water park.  I remember when I was little all the advertising for it on the Disney channel. I remember watching all the drawings become actual construction. I remember all the planning and advertising and announcements for the project coming to fruition. Now I never dreamed of actually getting to go, but once we were heading that direction I knew we would have to make a visit. 

On the day of we had prepared ourselves for a day in the Florida sun experiencing the huge wave pool and sweet water slides. I was genuinely excited. Kimberly and I walked through the ticket gates and noticed how dark the skies were. We passed through the concessions and I think I heard a low rumble in the skies, but we headed for the water. I remember just seeing the iconic beached fishing boat when alarms started going off. We were told to exit the park. Hurricane warnings. I made the joke that park was already hit and prepared for a Typhoon but it didn't matter. We would not be  experiencing Typhoon Lagoon. I was a bit sad, I had wanted to see it my whole childhood and now it would not be.

My plans do not always work out. 

I remember being disappointed but I decided to not let that ruin our honeymoon. Being with Kimberly was more important and really the point. We went to see Legally Blonde 2 instead, not really a great place holder but I was with Kimberly so it was fine. We both agreed it wasn't that great a film. But man I must have been in love because really that movie is terrible. 

When we focus so much on the destination we lose sight of the sunsets during the journey. Worse yet we lose sight of our travelling companion on the journey. I have often done this with God. 

God himself is always going to be the destination but part of reaching him is realizing he is also our travel companion that goes the distance with us. When we ignore our travel companion, the journey may just stretch out to be a bit longer than planned, but remember the destination is sure and the company is good.

Think of that footprints in the sand poem.

Sometimes our eyes can get so focused on where we plant our next step in the sand that we forget where it was we were going. We forget that our hand is firmly held. There is one other thing though. When we step back and realize that God is with us we are able to enjoy the journey in a whole new way. We are able to view the journey in a whole new way. The journey doesn't have to be a dread, it doesn't have to be a delay, it can simply be what is next. So next time your destination seems far off, and the road blocks continual, remember who is with you and where you are actually heading. 

When we finally do arrive, we realize we are better for having come the way we have. This is something I had to learn along the way. 

thanks

Temptation to Ashes (brothers part 2)

 I read the story of another "christian" that turned away to atheism. It makes me sad. It should make us all sad. Why? Because this whole believers versus non-believers thing is not a popularity contest.  It is not even an "us" versus them, it is an "us", every single last one of us, versus eternity. It is about the very destination of our souls.  It is about whether or not they make it into God's presence in an active relationship or a passive one.  Rest assured they will meet God. I know the non-christian especially the atheist wants to parade these individuals as brave for leaving the oppressive system of religion. 

I have read the wiki guide for how to lead a Christian away from God. The steps are so simple! I have also read Richard Dawkins's God Delusion and Christopher Hitchens's God is not great.  These people so want to convince others that God is not there. They have so much animosity towards him and religion, why? I think Paul answers that question in Ephesians 6.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

There is a battle going on. There is war going on. Just because we may stop paying attention does not mean that the assault stops. This is similar to the wars across the world that we do not know about; unless it is fresh on the news we may be tempted to think it was resolved or no longer happening.  C.S.Lewis reminds us about this idea in the Screwtape Letters. The experienced demon Srewtape informs Wormwood just let them think that we aren't there. I am not sure if Sun Tzu used this war tactic but it does seem easiest to fight a war if one side is completely unaware. I believe that this is our temptation, to simply just muse and wander why some people, certain people are so evil? Why do they want to destroy God and tear down people?  

We have probably all heard the cry in frustration "I hate people!" If we as Christians are not careful we can fall into this trap of thinking that people are the real problem when they are in fact the mission.  Paul points out that the people are not the problem but the demons. Why do they do this? All we can do is speculate ultimately, but perhaps since they have lost, the only thing they can do is take as many people down with them. The whole not going down without a fight thing, is not so virtuous after-all.

If we forget we are in a war then the call to be strong in the Lord loses urgency. If the call to be strong loses urgency then our shield of faith gets lowered.  As this passage continues on to mention. When the shield of faith is lowered we begin to rely on our own strategies or more realistically not make any. But this is guaranteed to make us fall as the passage mentions; we get hit from the arrows of the enemy.  This is what happens if we do not realize we are in a war. We start to think that perhaps their is no fight, perhaps no faith, and perhaps no God, and perhaps nothing to hold on to. And perhaps we should just walk away, and thus another article is written about a brave soul leaving religion.

When we make this mistake for whatever reason we become a casualty of the fight that we weren't paying attention to.  Sadly a common reasons tend to be "I wanted to stop fighting temptation"  This however has made the battle about something that Christ has already won.  Temptation is very real but we misunderstand when we seem to think that since Christ died for our sins, that holiness means we now have to strive to be perfect. Temptation will always be there, our goal is not to achieve a sinless life, that is part of the blessed hope. Our conduct is important because we are in love with Christ and we want to be like him but we have a different nature and a different advocate now.  The difference is now the Spirit aids us and Christ welcomes us when we fail. If we are doing it for any other reason than we are holding our sword backwards and swinging with the blunt end.

I really think the problem is as Christians we fail to understand balance. This passage is a good example.  It tells us that people are not the enemy but that spirits are, yet we are still to dress in the armor of God. Doesn't the battle belong to the Lord?  Isn't the outcome settled?  Yes and Yes, then why do I need to care about the battle?  Because the Lord calls us to join him in his kingdom. Being in God's kingdom means being a participant.  Yes God died for our sins and we are forgiven and we need to pay attention to our conduct. But if we let one overtake the other we get in trouble. If we only focus on the grace we can slide into license, but equally if we only focus on sin management then we become discouraged and wonder what the point is.  If we can't understand biblical theology in balance then we will always be at odds with some other passage. 

This has sadly left some in a place where they walk away from the faith.  They say I was tired of being somebody I wasn't. It's as if Christianity is about being perfect and they were tired of being a hypocrite. They are half right.  They are hypocrites if they think they should be perfect, because they will never attain it, but the answer is to fall into Christ's loving arms once again after we fail.  Not to walk away. They really just reveal that they did not understand the Gospel.   

But...

Because if we forget who the actual enemy is, we can tend to let the story end here and it is our temptation to quote only verse 10 from Proverbs 24 when this happens.

¹⁰ If you faint in the day of adversity,
    your strength is small.

But let's not forget the counter that God gives in verse 11.
 
¹¹ Rescue those who are being taken away to death;
    hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.

We are at war and so are the soldiers next to you, watch their backs. Are we going to leave our soldiers to burn or we will realize we are in a battle and Christians don't leave men behind.

When we hear stories like this we shouldn't shake our heads in judgement but we should return to our knees and fight the fight where the battle is.  Remember Paul's encouragement to the Galatians.

6:1Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5For each will have to bear his own load.
6Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

This is a big part of that laying down your life for a friend thing that thing that Jesus says there is no greater love than. If this doesn't make sense to you go and watch Saving Private Ryan. Let's not leave our brothers to ashes. 

Band of Brothers is also very good. 

thanks 

I can't see your Faith Brother (brothers part 1)

Commenting on someone's faith, no I would rather not do it.  This becomes the inevitable conclusion of trying to minister in categories and ministering in categories is the inevitable conclusion focusing on sheep and goats. This is why election discussion are nor truly helpful from a pastoral perspective. We can only approach people as potential followers or potential followers. This is why my last blog about the learners is really more philosophical than practical. It is good to know for own sanity but it shouldn't set policy. We can understand that some fail to launch but apart from trying to help all we can do is give it to God. We can't really minister as such without creating different levels of believers.

This is too easy to do. It is easy to look at someone's life and declare they either look like me or they don't. This is hard because I know that we are instructed to look at the fruit. But what conclusions are we allowed to come to? Am I as a Christian allowed to look at a fellow believer and say that they are not on the path or that they are?

Whenever I hear this type of speak I am reminded about Romans 14:4

Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Here is the current problem in the church, this "hey man don't judge me" mantra has infiltrated the church.  But the verse is for the judges not to judge, not for the judged to not repent. Those in need of repentance must repent and be made whole. But the speck finders also need an inspection. 

The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts of sin.  

 8And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Their ultimate problem is belief in him and the Holy Spirit will bring this conviction albeit perhaps in response to preaching the Gospel. They will be convicted of righteousness in that their own fails in comparison to Christ and he is vindicated as the standard because he was welcomed by the Father. Finally the ruler of this world that they are still under is judged so they have nothing to which to hold onto or stand on.  

 So God does the judging not I. This also makes me think of the prodigal's son parable.

¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. ¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. ¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to^[a] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’^{[b] 22} But the father said to his servants,^[c] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, ²⁹ but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

I don't want to be the older brother in the parable, it is too easy to do. It is too easy for the church to be the older brother. When it comes to someone else's walk. There are two brothers with two sins here. The younger flaunts it and the older with pride hides it. But they both are in danger of destroying their relationship with the Father if they do not return. 

The problem is the younger recognizes his faults and the older does not. Only God can come along and clearly say where the person is at on their journey to, from, back or away from him. I think as a real brother would have chased after the younger as Jesus explains that a good shepherd does. He leaves the 99 in search of the one. What good does it do for some of the 99 still comfortable in the pin to comment about how much of a sinner number 100 is?  But in order for the shepherd or good brother to chases the wayward soul down, he must have words about the need to return. 

This is the hard part we need to encourage our brothers to return, not write them off as sinners without hope. Brothers come home, but does our home welcome and do our hearts welcome?

It is easy to point out sinners, but brothers should treat each other differently. It is our treatment of each other that speaks of being Christ's disciples. Christ disciples are each others keepers. When we are tempted to act like Cain remember: Cain was bad. 

He was jealous of his brother's offering being accepted by God just like the prodigal's brother was jealous and angry that his brother received forgiveness for his behavior. This brother is similar to Jonah who knows God's forgiving nature and decides that these people should not receive it. 

The Law's purpose is is to illumine our need.  Paul says its purpose was not to make righteous because only God can do that. It's purpose was for us to understand that we need help and that help is available. The question really is are we willing to admit that we are a damsel in distress or not?

We must never communicate the world's sin problem in a way that is more than a mirror to show them their need for a savior. It is never to discourage them away from a relationship with God. They are prisoners who can't see the bars. The message is always to return. So when your brother is in need say "Brother please, come let us return unto the Lord."

Brothers are there for each other even when they are different and on different paths. Just like Jake and Elwood Blues, we are on a mission from God, let's stay the course. 

thanks

Jude 17-25 a Commentary

^{Finishing up on Jude.}

17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” ¹⁹ It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. ²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

17-18 Jude returns back to addressing the church specifically. There is a reminder to recall the words of the faithful to Christ and the apostles. They foretold that in the last times there will be scoffers. Scoffers are those who will not believe and mock at sound doctrine. They do this because of their own malcontent and they will not heed to what was already delivered to the saints; the faith in completeness. So they follow their own ungodly passions. If we are do not hold to the true faith then we are left to run after whatever passions that our malcontent urges lead.

19-20 Worse still these men lead others astray. They will cause divisions in the church because they are without the Spirit. The Spirit is the one who will bring to remembrance all the things Jesus taught and will lead the people into righteousness therefore these men are without him. This is how Jude says these men are devoid of the Spirit. If they had the Spirit they would be bringing unity and not just a unity but unity under Christ. In other words the Spirit would lead them in true unity of the scriptures and with true followers of Christ, as a major job of the spirit is to illuminate it to us. This is why they are of the world and not of the Spirit. Jude reminds the faithful to continue to build themselves up in the faith that was already once delivered to the saints that he referred to at the beginning of the letter.  Pray in the Holy Spirit because he does not lead into error as these false teachers do.  

21-22 But the loved of God along with building themselves up with the faith are to keep themselves in the love of God by holding to the faith. One way they do this is by waiting for the mercy of Jesus that leads to eternal life.  Jude seems to be saying that keeping yourself in the love of God means patience on him to deliver them unto salvation. Waiting for mercy is very different than adopting the malcontent natures of the teachers. While the loved of God keep themselves in the love, they are not to fall for the lie. What they are to do is distribute mercy to those who are being tempted and are having doubts because the false teachers. 

23 But this takes discernment. Jude says that some need mercy and some need decisive action in order to snatch them out of the jaws of these lies. This action is love keeping. Steal others with mercy and reveal the fear over their souls because of the path they are walking. But always hold the hate of the sin itself. Do not excuse the trespass of the lies and always distance yourselves from them. Stained by the flesh may be another reference to the sexual sin again, but the message is avoid the teachings that are undermining the faith and causing the doubt. 

24-25 This is a famously used doxology for the church. This is a reminder that those who hold to the faith have the assurance that God is able to keep them within it. This is not an assurance to the false teachers who have incurred judgment. Jude is making a distinction between who exactly God holds safe here. God keeps us from stumbling if we so desire him to do so by keeping in the faith. God will keep us all the way to present us to the Father in Glory. He concludes with giving praise to the only God and savior Jesus Christ. This is because Jesus is Lord but also to draw a distinction between what a true teacher of the faith believes and what these new teachers were able to say. Glory and dominion are only God's.

Jude reminds his listeners that we have the necessary truth to keep ourselves from these teachers and their lies if will will recount that we were warned about these exact problems. Jude is saying I have written you this letter so you can look at when you feel the pressure to listen to these false teachers. In the last days the scoffers will come and he was right, the scoffers are all around us. It is our responsibility to build ourselves up in the holy faith and to keep ourselves in the love by being patient on his return. But he reminds us again that God himself is at our aid in this.  Love keeps us safe and it reaches out to the brothers to help them stay in the love as well. 

We are not alone, even when it seems like so many "churches" are falling for the lie. Or being consumed with consumerism church. Sure we could reach more people if we pervert the Gospel.  But for those of us with the Spirit, we are to hold on to the once and for all delivered faith, despite what society is doing and what many churches are caving to. All we can do is uphold the Gospel, preach the Gospel, and call on the name of the Lord to help and return. Maker return, your people need you. 

Jude knew it and I pray our churches today see it as well.

thanks 

Jude 14-16 a Commentary

<sup>Continuing our look at Jude.

14</sup> It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ¹⁶ These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. (ESV)

14 Jude reminds that he is drawing imagery from the book of Enoch. This judgement is in its own category and is apocalyptic in nature. Judgement that requires a pulling back of the realm of the physical so the spiritual realm can be witnessed. God is upset. Again these ones have warnings and prophecies about what happens to them from the Bible. They should know better and they are without excuse. 

15 Judgement is coming for these men who not only pervert the truth of the faith but act in ways worthy of Judgment. God will bring conviction on these because of their anti Godly deeds. Not only are their deeds anti God but their methods are anti God. And not only this but they speak harshly against God himself. This is probably both by undermining his character in their teachings and outright blasphemy as they have already been shown to do against the glorious ones. These men undermine God's character when they teach that God allows and encourages things that he outright forbids. This undermines the character of God. It misrepresents God. It challenges his authority and it attempts to steal God's glory making him out to be something lesser than he is. Did I mention God is upset with these men?

16 Jude calls them grumblers and malcontents. This may be what fuels their misdeeds. They refuse to be content with what God has done, they continually grumble against the one who would have saved their souls. Perhaps they grumble against what they consider his restrictions on their behavior so they drum up teaching that allows them to continue down their dark path? Instead of listening they follow after their own sinful desires, and worse for the wear they use the grace of God to justify their own sins.  They are loud mouthed boasters and they show favoritism for their own gain. They work for money and prestige and somehow their message of cheap grace leading to sexual sinful pleasure has a landing place in some hearers. 

The testimony of Jude about these men is damning indeed. What is worse is that they are teaching others to follow suit. God will absolutely judge false teachers. God will defend his honor and character and woe to the man that attempts to poison the image of God. God will not excuse those who lead others astray, nor will he excuse those who attack his very nature. This is both for Jude's time and in ours. Grace does not excuse perverting the character of God.  I do want to comment for application on how they show favoritism to gain advantage. This is precisely what is happening in our culture, they show favoritism to those with the sinful proclivities of our culture and in return receive praise and acceptance. They get to both live in the world and be of the world. They manufacture a different gospel that sinners love because it does not call them to repentance. So they rightfully gain a following and point to this "gain" as God's blessing but do not see that their judgment was long written down. We should not lose heart that many follow after them and the rest that hold the line get socially condemned, because it is before God that any man stands or falls. Take heart the day is coming when everything done in the darkness will be revealed. 

I know this is challenging. I feel discouraged sometimes when our own Christian theology is hijacked. When grace and love are the handles that they hang their new teachings and perversion on we are made to look like bigots and backwater fundamentalist without hearts or care for the the world. But take heart, God is well aware of the score. 

thanks 

God's Avenger

The fourth of July is here and it is a very testy time to say the least with the government and Christianity.

On everyone's mind right now is the role of government. What did it do? What should it have done etc? How should Christians react? Paul gives an interesting summary of the purpose of the Government and he calls it God's avenger. This doesn't so much hit on the ruling yet but setting some ground work for the discussion to happen. I know that Paul's discussion doesn't quite get to what everyone is so mad about right now. This isn't the hot topic of the day right now, but, the reach of the government is. In order to get there though we need to see what its purpose is supposed to be. We need to look at Romans 13.

I started writing about this honestly because I occasionally see someone comment about how Christians shouldn't be for the death penalty because we are pro life and believe we are made in the image of God.  Rightly so, we are.  But so much has happened historically that this will be a two part-er.

On more reflection on my previous needing a hero blog and our desire of justice, it got me thinking about another hero. Or rather an anti-hero The Punisher.  I was familiar with the comic book character and so I watched the movie a few years ago and I remember struggling with a line in the movie where he says "It is not vengeance but punishment." In other words he was justified because it was not a personal vendetta but administering the due desert.

At the time I remember struggling with how it was any different, mostly because he was entirely spurned on by the personal loss of his family. But I do understand the intent. Vengeance in the our typical sense is reactionary despite justice, whereas punishment is in direct response measured by desert.

Any vengeance is in a sense retribution but our typical vernacular tends to be more along the lines of a personal tit for tat, or payback with righting the wrong of personal feelings. True desert involves righting the wrong as in restitution, it is a measured response to the wrongdoing. The problems of vengeance tend to be emotional and thus the solution may be greater than the crime.

For example: "He should be in prison, but I want him dead."

This as I have said before is why God instructed the rule "An eye for an eye". So the punishment is measured.  God is about just measures, remember?

So at the time I didn't understand it for the movie, I am not sure if it conveyed the idea well, but I do understand the difference in principle. The idea is that sometimes people escape through the system and true justice cannot be levied so the Punisher brings the desert for the crimes.  This is the very premise of the Steven Seagal movie Above the Law (1988).

Now while I can grant them the premise for the fictional comic book character and for a movie, this doesn't work in real life. When real people do this they also have to give account.

A more realistic yet still fictional story tried to portray this as well.  The movie A Time to Kill (1996) from a John Grisham book dealt with this exact premise. A Father whose daughter was brutally raped knew that the accused were going to be let go because of racial tension so he took it upon himself to punish them. He shot them both dead and the movie plays out about his own trial. Despite his own obvious guilt he feels justified because the system failed. His guilt is undeniable the question becomes should he be prosecuted? In the end he isn't because the jury realizes he acted as probably any father would because he was himself denied justice. A very good movie.

But the obvious point is sometimes the system isn't enough.  Now this system is in fact what God has left behind to be his own avenger. Romans 13 calls the government a servant of God for the common good. The government is referred to as his avenger who carries out God's own wrath on the wrongdoer. In other words God is about punitive desert.

So what are the common responses?

People are the image of God. God told us we are made in his image and he believes in the death penalty. God enacted the penalty many times and had his people do the same. God is not so concerned about his image bearers that he refrains from snuffing them out when they corrupt his image by offense. But that was the Old Testament. Well in New Testament rightly so that responsibility has been handed over to God's Avengers: the Governments. Their primary purpose is to restrain evil and this is done by the sword (by force). But what about the woman caught in adultery? The scenario was that the mob wanted Jesus to allow them to put her to death. They actually didn't have the right under Roman law to act such. There was no formal trial and the man was mysteriously absent. But primarily Jesus' purpose was to save lives not destroy them. Jesus reminds his own disciples this in Luke 9:56 when they wanted to call down fire on his opponents. His purpose was to bring the gospel, his mission from God was to spread news of the Kingdom. It was not his responsibility to act under Old Testament laws when the New Covenant was being put in place. However he did teach Paul to instruct that Governments did hold that power as his servants.  Why do we kill people to show that killing people is wrong? Because death is a great message. Really it is. The death penalty serves as an object lesson for sure but first and foremost is a just desert. It is also to curb evil. God gave us the example of punitive justice.

I would further point out the punishment for our sins was punitive; the death penalty. Furthermore when reading the New Testament at this point God is delaying punishment til his return for the purposes of showing mercy 2 Peter 3:15. God wants to grant grace in forgiveness through his Son. But a time will come when he shows up and the time for mercy will have expired. This is why everyone wants to put a date on the apocalypse. Read the New Testament about the Day of the Lord. God's justice is about the death penalty. The wadges of sin is death. God does offer a way out but if people don't take it then they deny the savior end up paying it themselves.

Now the purpose of this blog is not to defend the death penalty, but to advance the notion that sometimes justice is punitive. Justice doesn't really care about the rehabilitation, that is for a separate office. Rehabilitation is on the individual. A system can be put in place to help, but rehabilitation is not justice. Rehabilitation is necessary for a society to function but it is a luxury. A luxury that we all very much hope that people take advantage of, but it cannot take the place of just desert. God demands justice, he is not as much interested about his avenger creating programs to reintegrate the people into society, the avenger's job is justice. Rehabilitation is the Church's job. It is called the Gospel.

Before we get caught up in the why's of this or that tragedy let's not skip over the just desert. When we skip over desert we compound the trespass, multiply the victims, and encourage repeat offenses. The punishment must fit the crime after-all.

Without punishment we breed lawlessness. And thus we get a country that hates accountability and screams for little more than anarchy. If we need to change the system we should use the system lawfully or else our own lawlessness brings about more sin. Again in chapter 13 of Romans we are told to not resist the government as they act as the avengers or else we are found to be fighting against God himself.

If the Avengers go bad, they will give an account to new governments and ultimately to God. Avengers will give an account. Just as God punished those he used to punish Israel. Avengers are not above the law as Steven Seagal taught us.

Thus we leave punishment to the government and we leave the government to hands of God. But what about when they violate God's law? Well we can look at that next time.

thanks

Sin the other church four letter word

Sin is such a vile word that the world hated Jesus for his use of it. Jesus admits this himself:

John 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.

Jesus also tells us that we will be hated like him because of our association with him.

Mathew 28:9“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

Why was Jesus hated? I thought he was about love? Are we going to be hated because of our association with Love?  If this is all Jesus was about then why all the hate? Hmm...could it be that perhaps that Jesus was not a one dimensional person only concerned with love the way we tend to portray him?

The pharisees didn't hate Jesus because he was so loving.  They hated him because he had the audacity to speak with authority about sin. He had the audacity to use that authority to point out that they were not as holy as they thought. This is why they kept pointing out his bad associations because they were desperate to find him guilty as well. The people who loved Jesus did not love him because he didn't talk about sin, they loved him because despite calling them on it, he still loved them. This is what led them to repentance. The difference was the way people responded to having their sin pointed out. Humility or pride. This is still the issue to this day, this has always been the issue. Hypocrites in the church get mad when sin is talked about and unregenerate souls do the same.

But why are Christians reacting this way?  

2 Corinthians 2:15-16
 15For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

Sin should not be a four letter word for a Christian. Sin itself is a problem because it separates us from God, it influences. But confronting sin, talking about sin should not be because Jesus made a way. Sin is the reality of the fallen world. Sin is what reminds us that we need a savior and the amazing things God did for us. This is why Paul says the purpose of the Law was to reveal sin. When confronted with sin the Christian falls on his knees and asks for forgiveness and rises again knowing his forgiveness is accepted and he his welcomed into God's presence. Christians acknowledge sin because sin separates and a Christian wants to abide with Christ. Sin becomes a problem when it is not revealed; sin becomes a problem when it is fostered. For a Christian the mere presence of sin is not the problem, because it is always going to be there in some form.  It is the hiding of sin that is. When someone points out our sin we should say "You are right and I need Jesus." The person bringing the charge should say "You are right, you do and so do I. It is a good thing that he is so forgiving."  Then they should go out to lunch or something.

Instead what we have is people in the church responding as hecklers at a tent revival. The abhorrence to the charge of sin that the world has, has infiltrated the church and now we can't be honest with ourselves. We fail to grow and produce fruit because we seem to think that grace means we don't talk about sin or that it is no longer an issue. It isn't, as far as eternal judgement, but it is as far relationships and growth. Romans 6 is all about this. But the church has fallen for the "hey man don't judge me line" that the world uses. The church should be the one who is well aware of her heart and her deeds. This awareness should be met with joy because God's availability to us in the middle of it. God's righteousness should cause us to rejoice because our sin's are dealt with in Christ, but righteousness should not make us indifferent to sin. Living together as broken people is what makes the church beautiful. That does not mean the multicolored stained sheet of unaddressed sin is beautiful, but the fact that the people are humble about it.

It is this humility that makes us prepared to share the gospel. We recognize our need. This is that whole "It is the sick that need a physician" thing. This humility makes us present the "good news of the gospel" as a remedy and not as condemnation.   

If sin is overwhelming and hateful to you one of two things has happened.  The first is that you are being overcome with guilt over your sin, you feel helpless about it because you feel condemned.  Now this also can go in two directions.  It can lead you to repentance or it can lead you to more guilt and despair. It is this latter that causes someone to react with such hostility about sin.  The first will lead you to Jesus. But the next thing that happens is your heart is hard and you do not want to repent.  So the idea of sin merely angers/offends you. This is the position of the unregenerate heart, but unfortunately this mindset has weaseled it's way into Christian speak among brothers. 

If as a Christian we react in this last way then there is a big problem in our heart.  It is the goodness of God that causes us to repent going back to the first problem. This does not mean that the Holy Spirit tells us we are doing well when we are in sin and that hopefully we will "come around."  It means that because God is good his spirit brings guilt to us so that we will want to repent and restore our relationship with him.  This is clear from what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7.
9As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.10For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

For the christian sin is supposed to bring us back to God not drives us away from him. I know that part of the problem may come from the way it is presented, but i would urge us to still reply that we know we need God too. Humility is quite a disarming thing. That way, if it was just said poorly we both are covered. A pastor has the responsibility to bring both the encouraging words as well as the challenging ones.  If we constantly war against the challenging ones, then the question remains what's going on with our heart?

Sin should not be a four letter word for a Christian, not anymore.

Thanks

The four letter word Theology

I read a very useful quote the other day about hermeneutics and it got me thinking. In his witty succinct manner Douglas Wilson says:  "Theology is simply remembering the verses you read over there while you read the verses here."

Now I love Theology, hence the subtitle to this blog, but unfortunately, often it gets a bad wrap. I keep seeing blogs that encourage people to stop saying that the Bible is clear. Well I would agree if the Bible is not clear on something. But I think the Bible is clear on a lot of things, especially if you take the time to learn how to read it. I also read another one about proof-texting, the author didn't flesh out how this works exactly other than to say not to do it. But what the term means is not to take a verse out of context and use it to prove your theological point.

Remember in the temptations of Christ, Satan said to Jesus "It is written", but before we say "That is right! we shouldn't try to prove things from the Bible!" But remember, Jesus also said "It is written" in his responses to Satan when tempted. The obvious take away is one was doing it better than the other. Jesus knew why it was written. You could say he took the time to understand the context and meaning of the passage, or he had good Theology.

In fact the exchange between Jesus and Satan, I believe, is a perfect example of why we need to be exceedingly clear when we use the Bible and how to do Hermeneutics.  

Paul even makes a big deal when telling Timothy about being sure his doctrine is good.  1 Timothy 1 is all about this. He reminds him again in 4:16 saying that it will save his life and his listeners'.  Paul reminds young Timothy again in 2 Timothy 2:15 To study and show himself approved, rightly dividing the word of Truth, why? To not be ashamed.

So, yes, some use it to their shame, but it can and should be used well. 

Unfortunately, to some terms like doctrine and theology are considered the four letter words of the church. Why? Because doctrine divides and theology/knowledge puffs up. I have also seen a bit of this in both Bible college and seminary. The Bible theology professors have one slant and the systematic professors have a slightly different slant and rarely the two shall meet.  I had the privilege of studying one in Bible college and the other in seminary and I have personally felt this challenge. I have seen this many times and I think I have learned something. I think that an example lies with Augustine.

Augustine was a benedictine monk who lived in the 3rd century in northern Africa and his theology has influenced many theologians and thinkers to this day. Sure, he had some problems in systematic theology and some problems in biblical theology especially in the old testament. But one thing he had down was pastoral theology. What I mean by pastoral theology is not just another of the theological disciplines but the way his theology impacted the way he led his people.  His theology generated a change in his life that meant he gave his for the sheep. They knew he loved them.

It was his theology that translated to rubber meets the road faith.

Part of the problem I have seen is that sometimes we communicate with too much straight Bible and not enough "Hey I am with you" language. When the time isn't taken to see why the Bible says what it says people start to think it is distant and too hard. But this can lead to people saying do not proof text, or rather do not make Biblical assertions. Other times however there is too much "Hey I am with you" language and not enough Bible, but that is a different problem for a different day.

I see the problem as one having to do with a lack of pastoral theology, or I should simply say a lack of usefulness. This is where the boot meets the boardwalk.  This can be reduced to answering the question "Yeah but what does that even mean?" Pastoral theology as I am using it is delivering doctrine and theology in a way that doesn't cause people's eyes to gloss over and start checking Facebook on their phones. It leaves people challenged and excited for the word and not leaving with them saying
"And that's why I don't read the bible."

The pastor has to first be real and relateable. Read Augustine's The Confessions and you'll see this real quickly. As useful as knowing that the Greek word for "work" means a lot of synonyms for work is, this may not be helpful to the listener.  A pastor has to take the time to make the language understandable. If not then often the language he uses is not simply flying over the hearers head but angels are not allowing it to leave the stage. The listener wants to know how difficult passages speak to their lives, or, if they even do? But a pastor must stick mostly to the text. This may mean making assertions and defending a position. Because it is the text that is authoritative not our opinions or what we want to speak about that week. If we follow the first two steps this won't sound as boring as it sounds. Sure add stories, add anecdotes, but the meat should be the word, that is why God gave it too us. That is why so much history and blood was spent to preserve it.

Finally a pastor should be one who remembers that "Theology is simply remembering the verses we read over there while we read the verse over here". This is really just another way of what Paul says to Timothy in 2nd Timothy 2.
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 

Pastoral theology is presenting the word in enjoyable, relatable, understandable, applicable truths, which it is if the time is taken.  Part of this translates to the people feeling that their pastor is believable, relateable, approachable, and that he cares for them and this in turn that God feels the same way. The point is not to sell ourselves but the bible is clear "How will they hear without a preacher?" The pastor is in a sense "selling God" but the people will not buy-in, if the pastor is distant, cold, aloof, grandiose, or merely selling himself.

I have seen how this type of preaching leaves people with distance from the pastor and the word itself and thus they concluded that Theology is not good.

Augustine is a major influence in all of Christianity.  By his pastoral theology he won his people with love and charity, and ended up literally giving his life for them, to serve them.  He understood that to lead was to serve, and thus the people saw God.  His Theology pointed him to charity, but it came from rightly handling the word of truth.

Theology sometimes has hard truths for us. The Bible sometimes makes difficult assertions. While knowledge may indeed puff up, sometimes doctrine is meant to divide.  You can usually tell one way or the other if love is in the mix.

Augustine won me over personally to the pastorate while studying him in seminary. The way he loved his people inspired me to continue in pastoral ministry when i was tempted to walk away. I was letting the burn out and challenge of people in the ministry overcome me until I truly understood that love was the key to ministry. Augustine understood his role of loving the sheep while bringing the word.  

To his people theology wasn't a four letter word, to them theology meant that the pastor loved them, and more importantly that God did.  It is truth and love, love does not discount truth, and love is void without truth.

thanks