Transformed by Jesus

This week I am preaching on Paul and his conversion.  Now Paul is the last guy you would expect to become a Christian, but it's pretty important that God did take this guy who was killing his people and make him into his child.  God transformed someone who was clearly his enemy and made him a vessel to bring the message to many others who were far from Jesus. 


So part of my message this week is about God's power to transform.  God transforms people who are far from him and makes them into his children, his beloved children.


That's what God does, but its hard for us to really believe this.  


When we think about who we want to invite to our church, who we think will accept Jesus as Lord and Savior we think of our nice neighbors who seem to have their stuff together.  They are so much like us, except for the Jesus and church part that we think they are so close to seeing God and knowing his grace.  To be sure, God calls these people, but this week I've been reading testimonies.  Most testimonies that have impacted me, and impacted, deeply impacted people far from Christ are testimonies of people far from Jesus whom he draws near.  


This week I listened to Ravi Zacharias testimony and Lee Strobels.  Then this morning I was listening to the national prayer breakfast and heard a little bit of Eric Metaxas Testimony

These are people who were far from God.  God took people who didn't look like Christians already.  God found people who were hopeless, some  losers, some antagonists but all lost.  He rescued them from where their plans and hopes and direction had failed them.  God is good, and God is powerful.  He is mighty to save. 


Russell Moore had some thoughts on this recently

Russell Moore recounts a memorable conversation with the evangelical theologian Carl F. H. Henry. As Moore and some of his friends were lamenting the miserable shape of the church, they asked Dr. Henry if he saw any hope in the coming generation of evangelicals.

Dr. Henry replied:

Of course, there is hope for the next generation of evangelicals. But the leaders of the next generation might not be coming from the current evangelical establishment. They are probably still pagans. Who knew that Saul of Tarsus was to be the great apostle to the Gentiles? Who knew that God would raise up a C. S. Lewis or a Charles Colson? They were unbelievers who, once saved by the grace of God, were mighty warriors for the faith.

Russell Moore added:

The next Jonathan Edwards might be the man driving in front of you with the Darwin Fish bumper decal. The next Charles Wesley might be a misogynist, profanity-spewing hip-hop artist right now. The next Billy Graham might be passed out drunk in a fraternity house right now. The next Charles Spurgeon might be making posters for a Gay Pride March right now. The next Mother Teresa might be managing an abortion clinic right now.

So when we pray, let's not only pray for people we like, and people who are like us. People who, if they walked into our churches, would fit right in.  Let's also pray for people who are far from God. Let's pray for God to work in powerful ways and show that he is the redeemer. Let's pray that God changes people far from him and be glorified because he has worked in ways that we didn't see or expect.  Let's pray that God continues to show that he is the way, the truth, and the life to a perishing world 

Law as Gift

This week I was reading Luke 6:1-11.  A few thoughts that really impressed me were related to the point of the Law.  Ultimately, the Sabbath and the entire law are not meant to be oppressive burdens.  That's the problem that results from legalism.  God's reason for giving the law is as gift. (As well as to show us our sinfulness when we reject it.) But I'm going to focus on the gift part.


In v. 5 Jesus says, the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. Now this can be read as Jesus saying, "Look here pharisees, I'm God I don't need to follow the law. I am the law!"  Kind of like a corrupt policeman.  But in the context He's talking about David and that David (and Jesus and the disciples) were doing what "some pharisees" (v. 2) considered work (and other pharisees didn't).  But David and his companions, to stay alive ate the consecrated bread. Jesus point is that people (sons of men) are Lord over the sabbath and that the sabbath is not Lord over them.  
The Sabbath is a gift designed to give life.  God mandates rest becuase we need a break, that we need rest,  we need to refocus, we need to trust in God and not in our own efforts to truly enjoy this life.  But if Sabbath becomes a burden if it ends up destroying life v. 9. thats a problem.  That's a corruption of the law.  That's a teaching that needs to be fixed.


We need to see all of the law as gift and not just a burdensome list of rules meant to weigh us down.  When we believe that God is good and trust his gift of law we see that.  Not stealing, coveting, hurting, lying, sleeping around, cheating on our spouses, lusting, boasting etc. is a gift.  When we don't do those things our lives and more joyful because they are less painful, and less oppressive for ourselves and for those around us. Instead we are supposed to be serving, loving, being patient and humble. If we praise God and give thanks, and follow the "do" commands we see our lives being filled with joy and meaning.  


God's commands are gift, and meant to give life.  When we see this it makes all the difference in how we see God. (Authoritarian taskmaster v. concerned and loving Father)


Basically it comes back to that first temptation of Satan...when he asks Eve to question if God is really good.  Can you really trust him?  Don't you think he's holding out on you?  I used to think of God as Iron fisted, and capricious like Zeus waiting to throw Lightning at me if I screwed up.  


Now that I've screwed up a lot, and rarely been hit by lightning I know he works a different way, a restoring and redeeming way.  I hope you see that too. 

Utmost

Most of the church today doesn't really take Jesus lifestyle seriously.  We put a lot of pop psychology in there to make the calls to self sacrifice and eternally giving to others in there to make it palatable and sensible.  


I can do that pretty easily as well.  


Oswald Chambers devotional spells out that we need to give, trust follow Jesus at all times.  This faith is impossible without Christ.  Thank God he came to save us from ourselves.

Marriage

This past weekend Dani and I went to a wedding.  It's always a good reminder for those of us married to hear others taking those vows, making that promise. To love:  to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part. I think it helps us to refocus on the part we play in making things work.  It reminds us of the difficult commitment we have made, but that indeed we did commit.  It reminds us of the joy and expectancy and hope of that day, a hope that still exists in us all as we continue to grow in that love or at least striving for that beautiful perfect love that we know exists.


Sometimes in that pursuit however, we get lost.  We get things backwards and messed up. I was reflecting on my vows.  The Old English vows written by Thomas Cranmer.  It's usually presented like this, "with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you." but the original reads this, "With my body I thee worship and with all my worldly goods I thee endow. Pretty big difference, right? I mean you can see the heart of the original in the revision.  It's a lot more palatable to modern sensibilities, but it loses the power of the original and the thrust of what marriage really is.  Marriage is a complete commitment to the other person for their good.  Usually we get married because we love who we are when we are with that person.  They make us happier, or smarter, or safer, or braver, or whatever, but all too often we love ourselves when we are with them.  Marriage and life together helps us to learn what it is to love someone.  


We see this progression in Song of Solomon.  in 2:16 it says this 


My lover is mine and I am his.


In 6:3 the order changes


I am my lover's and my lover is mine; 


In 7:10 we see a further evolution


¹⁰ I belong to my lover,
       and his desire is for me.




Notice how in the first verse (pre-wedding) the beloved is focused on possessing her spouse.  He is mine.  First and foremost this is about what he can do for me.  This is essential and a normal part of our growing into love.   The same thing happens in our relationship with Jesus.  We want what he can do for us.  So we accept the proposal.  


However, that's not the aim.  That's not what we hope for and ultimately, a possessive me focused relationship is unsatisfying.  In Chapter 6 we still see possession, we still see ownership, but we see the order changed.  There is a recognition of belonging to the other person, we begin to give up our rights to ourself. We begin to understand love as a place to give, but our sense of self and rights and desires are not eradicated.


In chapter 7, we see the difference.  A complete abandonment of self interest of possessing and owning the other.  We are now free to give ourselves completely to our spouse.  Here is the beautiful thing though.  She knows she is loved.  She knows her husbands heart is committed to her and without that love we don't get to this point.  There can be relationships where someone gives up their rights to themselves, and it's a messed up out of whack relationship that does not honor God.  There can be relationships where men demand women serve them and give themselves up for them, abusive, oppressive relationships. There can be relationships where women control their husbands, manipulating, nagging and operating in a way to suck all the joy out of the relationship in order to get what they want.   There are a lot of ways to mess up a relationship, for sure. But there is only one way to get it right, and that is for both spouses to see that every aspect of marriage is about caring for the other.  Giving all that you have and all that you are to each other.  That means mentally and emotionally, that means spiritually and physically and that means financially and sexually.  This is where we pick up these vows that Dani and I said 8 years ago.  


These are areas of conflict for a lot of couples, but these need to be areas that we both see as essential to the health of our relationships.  We need to seek to serve and care for and love each other through these areas. I'm going to deal with how to do that in later posts since this is already a monster as it is.  Here is a good article in the meantime.
http://www.diobeth.org/Bishop/DLColumns/dlcolumn10.html

Transformation

God has given me more time, desire and passion for His Word recently.  I've been doing devotions with my wife, reading The Pursuit of God by Tozer and reconnecting with a couple of spiritual mentors.  My faith is being refreshed and I'm being transformed, at least my passion for God is returning and as I am faithful and responsive to God's will and call to empty ourselves for those around us I will be transformed continually.


This is one passage that cut deep.


It (The veil of self that blinds us to God) is woven of the fine threads of the self-life, the hyphenated sins of the human spirit. They are
not something we do, they are something we are, and therein lies both their subtlety and their power.
To be specific, the self-sins are these: self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency,
self-admiration, self-love and a host of others like them. They dwell too deep within us and
are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them.
The grosser manifestations of these sins, egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion, are strangely
tolerated in Christian leaders even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy. They are so much in evidence
as actually, for many people, to become identified with the gospel. I trust it is not a cynical observation
to say that they appear these days to be a requisite for popularity in some sections of the Church
visible. Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little
notice.


I am self focused (so are you), but seek to have them mind of Christ. (so should you)


 ⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
 ⁶Who, being in very nature God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 ⁷but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
 ⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!
 ⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
 ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.


Pray with me Tozer's prayer



Lord, how excellent are Thy ways, and how devious and dark are the ways of man. Show us how to die, that we may
rise again to newness of life. Rend the veil of our self-life from the top down as Thou didst rend the veil of the Temple. We
would draw near in full assurance of faith. We would dwell with Thee in daily experience here on this earth so that we
may be accustomed to the glory when we enter Thy heaven to dwell with Thee there. In Jesus’ name, Amen.


My hope is I can have more of God changing me in the blog and less focus on correcting the incorrect thinking of culture