“The Discipline of Disillusionment”

I recommend that you find a copy of My Utmost for His Highest, the powerful devotional book penned by late-nineteenth/early twentieth-century  Scottish minister Oswald Chambers. Amid the mire of trite and trivial devotional books out there these days, Chambers words stand out as a jewel. It’s not Scripture of course, but it is rooted in Scripture and always encourages further study and meditation of Scripture.

Today’s chapter is entitled, “The Discipline of Disillusionment.” Here are a few lines that caught my attention:

“…the disillusionment which comes from God brings us to the place where we see men and women as they really are, and yet there is no cynicism, we have no stinging bitter things to say.

“There is only one Being Who can satisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Our Lord’s confidence in God and what His grace could do for any man, was so perfect that He despaired of no one. If our trust is placed in human beings, we shall end in despairing of everyone.”

These three quotes tie together Chambers’ thoughts throughout today’s reading; and I think that he has hit the nail on the head. I think that one of the greatest problems we have, inside and outside of the church, is that we fail to account for the depravity of others. As Christians it is pretty easy to recognize our own fallen nature. However, I think a lot of us (perhaps most of us) operate under the assumption that other people are perfect. What’s especially dangerous is that this is often a passive assumption. In other words, we don’t even consider the fact that other people are just as depraved as we are.

Why is this a problem? When we carry the assumption that the people around us are perfect, life becomes no more than a series of disappointments and failures. Expecting perfection from imperfect beings is a recipe for disaster. We will always be let down if we expect perfection.

Strangely enough, I think that this problem is most prevalent inside the church. In the society at large there is a general aloofness and distrust towards other people. That’s why we have locks, alarm systems, pepper spray, etc. But for some reason, within our churches, we have this expectation that the people around us have all their ducks in a row (so to speak). One would think that Christians would be the most aware of, and sensitive to, the depravity of others. So why are we so shocked when the sins of others are dragged into the open? When prominent pastors fall? When churches split over doctrinal minutiae? When divorce rates among Christians are consistent with wider culture?

Why are we shocked by sin? Because we don’t account for it. This has to be one of the most destructive tactics that Satan employs against the church. If we do not account for the sin of other believers, we will always be appalled when we see it. The disillusionment that Chambers espouses is not a cynical dismissal of others. Rather, it enables us to truly embrace others and to love them for who they really are.

As Chambers points out, our God pursued relationship with us having our depraved nature fully in mind. God is under no illusions that we are perfect beings. Jesus himself “knew what was in man” (Jn. 2:25), but he was not dismissive. He responded with the greatest love imaginable. The heart of the gospel is that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8).

We must recognize that God is the only perfect being. He and He alone can satisfy our desire to be completely and perfectly loved. We must trust in the power of his grace to overcome the sin in our lives and the lives of others. We should not expect perfection from others; we should acknowledge the presence of sin and call upon God to exercise His transforming grace. The Bible is filled from cover to cover with detailed accounts of depraved people who are changed by the power of God.

If we are equally confident of human depravity and the ability of God’s transforming grace, we will never be shocked by the sin of others. Rather, we will be released to truly love others as we anticipate what God will do in and through them.

“Choose this day whom you will serve”

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served in beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. -Joshua 24:14-15

The Old Testament documents in great detail the constant struggle the Israelites had with worshipping idols instead of Yahweh. In the above passage, Joshua is imploring the people to return to faithful worship of Yahweh as they are settling in the Promised Land. While the names of the false foreign idols varied over time, the consistent thread throughout the Old Testament is that the Israelites preferred to worship a visible and tangible deity. They were not very fond of the whole “invisible God” idea, and so they continually turned away from Yahweh in preference of false gods that took on physical form.

People today are no different. After all, it is easier to trust something (or someone) that we can see over something (or someone) that we cannot see. The 21st century–and its’ accompanying technology–has given us unprecedented access to people and places all over the world. We can “see” just about anything we want. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that our increased vision has corresponded with a general decline in religious belief (Note: I am speaking primarily of the developed Western world). There are so much to see and do these days that we can hardly find time to sustain a relationship with a God who, though ever-present, is “invisible” to us.

The reason I put invisible in quotes is because I believe, as all Christians should, that God actually is visible. Or at the very least, He should be visible to us. The problem is we often choose to occupy ourselves with the more apparently visible things in our lives. I’m not speaking here of general revelation, in which we admire creation and see God’s handiwork–although I do not discount it. I am speaking of seeing God at work in our lives and in the lives of the people around us. I am speaking of taking the time to pause and trace the history of God’s gracious activity throughout our lives.

That is what Joshua wanted the Israelites to do. That is essentially what all of the prophets were getting at the Old Testament. They were saying: “Look, don’t you see how God has been faithful to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Don’t you see how he led you out of Egypt? Don’t you see how he brought you in the land he promised? Don’t you see how he established Israel as a great kingdom?” You get the idea. The prophets always point back to what God has done before in order to revive faith among the people. The people are forced to step away from what has distracted them and retrace their steps, looking for the hand of God along the way.

It is important for Christians today to perform a similar task of pausing to reflect and retrace. And we must start at the cross. The cross is where our story begins as followers of Christ. Christ is “the image of the invisible God.” In Christ, we can see the God who the Israelites longed to see. But we have to take the time to look. It is far too easy to get into a routine of busyness that excludes a relationship with God. We prioritize our lives around so many things. The Israelites were distracted by foreign gods. The rich young ruler was distracted by his possessions. Peter was often distracted by his preconceived notions of who the Messiah would be. We all have something that distracts, and our God is in the business of getting our undivided allegiance.

We must look to the cross, and then follow the thread of God’s faithfulness through history and through our lives. If we do this, we will undoubtedly see that the Triune God is the only one worthy of our devotion. Nothing else satisfies. No one else saves. Pause to reflect on God’s faithfulness, and choose this day whom you will serve.

Trust Issues: 1 Kings 18 & 19

I read through 1 Kings chapters 18 and 19 this morning, which tell of a critical time in the history of the nation of Judah. Hezekiah is king, a king who “trusted in the Lord the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him” (18:5).

Just 10 years earlier, Shalmaneser king of Assyria had captured Samaria and sent the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity. This happened because Israel had turned from the Lord. In this passage, Sennacherib is king of Assyria and he has brought his army to Jerusalem.

These were certainly dire circumstances for the people of Judah. They certainly knew the fate of Israel a decade before and would have trembled at the sight of the Assyrian army outside the gates of Jerusalem. In verses 30 and 33 of chapter 18, we hear the message from Assyria: “Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord by saying, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria’…Has any of the gods of the nations ever delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?” Sennacherib calls upon Judah to trust in him instead, and he will deal kindly with them.

So the people of Judah are faced with a challenge: to trust Sennacherib or to keep their trust in the Lord. Verse 36 is a beautiful description of the people’s response: “But the people were silent and answered him not a word.” The people followed Hezekiah’s leadership and kept their trust firmly in the Lord for their deliverance. Assyria eventually returned home and Sennacherib was assassinated by his own sons.

Years later an evil king would turn Judah away from the Lord, resulting in Jerusalem’s conquest by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. However, in this passage we see the proper response to adverse circumstances. There might be an option that seems safe and easy (surrendering to Sennacherib), but that way will lead to destruction because it causes us to turn from the Lord. Trusting God in Judah’s situation seemed preposterous, especially given Sennacherib’s words and Assyria’s many previous conquests–including Israel. But the people were unwavering in their commitment to the Lord and made the hard choice–they decided to follow Him not knowing what would happen. But God was faithful, and it was only when Judah eventually abandoned the Lord that harm came upon them.

Stay committed to the Lord in the hard things, and He will always be faithful.

Marks of the True Christian

Every time I read through the book of Romans, I am blown away by how much I learn and grow. It is a book that busts at the seams with rich doctrine and theology, and in some ways it is the very bedrock of Christian teaching. Romans contains my favorite chapter in all of Scripture (Romans 8) and my favorite verse in all of Scripture (Romans 8:38).

As I am now working my way through this book yet again, I continue to find new things that strike me and cause me to ponder. For the last few days I have been stuck on chapter 12. This chapter is perhaps best known by its first two verses (“present your bodies as a living sacrifice”, etc.), but this time around I have been particularly intrigued by verses 9 through 21.

What initially peaked my interest in this passage is that the English Standard Version labels this passage as “Marks of the True Christian.” I thought that with such a label this passage must contain characteristics that God expects from his followers. As I read through it, I was blown away both by the content of the passage and how fall short I fall of meeting God’s expectations.

This is a list of these “Marks of the True Christian”:

• “Let love be genuine”
• “Abhor what is evil”
• “Hold fast to what is good”
• “Love one another with brotherly affection”
• “Outdo one another in showing honor”
• “Do not be slothful in zeal”
• “Be fervent in spirit” or “be fervent in the Spirit”
• “Serve the Lord”
• “Rejoice in hope”
• “Be patient in tribulation”
• “Be constant in prayer”
• “Contribute to the needs of the saints”
• “Seek to show hospitality”
• “Bless those who persecute you and do not curse them”
• “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep”
• “Live in harmony with one another”
• “Do not be haughty”
• “Associate with the lowly”
• “Never be wise in your own sight”
• “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all “
• “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all”
• “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God”
• “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink”
• “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”

In just twelve verses, we receive 24 things that are supposed to mark our lives if we call ourselves Christians. I could write a full blog post about each one of them. The painful thing is that most of us see very little of these traits in our everyday character. I can think of ways just today in which I have not fulfilled almost every one of these items (some purposely and others not).

Now we need to be careful here. These are not things that we “must do” in order to be Christians. Christianity is not about what we do, it is about what Christ has done. But these are things that should appear in our lives as we continue along the lifelong path of surrendering our lives to the Lord. We also need to be careful not to make this a checklist of things to accomplish during the course of our day. They must overflow naturally out of a heart that is deeply committed to and satisfied in God.

What we can do is immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, in prayer, in worship, and in meditation, allowing God to transform our hearts and lives so that these things flow naturally. In other words, we must do exactly what Paul implores in verses 1 and 2 of this same chapter:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The only way these traits will take root in our lives is if we give ourselves completely to God and stop giving ourselves to this world. These marks do not make sense to the world, at least not in the deepest sense. While your average person may agree that we ought to abhor evil, for example, they do not understand what true evil is.

It is a lot easier to ignore these marks than it is to actively seek to bring them to fruition in our lives. But the Christian life is not meant to be easy. In order to become who God has called me to be, I must surrender myself to God each day and ask him to bring these traits into my life. you must do the same. Take an inventory of yourself and see how apparent these things are in your life. Chances are you will also find yourself with a need to bow before God’s throne of grace and ask Him to work His mighty power in your life.

Forgive us, as we forgive others?

In Matthew 6, part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer. It is one of the most quoted passages in the Bible, and yet I wonder how often the weight and depth of this powerful prayer is overlooked.

I am thinking specifically of one verse in particular, verse 12: “…and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Of course it is a central part of the Christian faith to repent of our sins and ask God’s forgiveness, but it is the second part of this verse that bothers me a bit.

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Here’s the thing, what if I have not done a very good job of forgiving others? What if, deep down, I have buried lingering grudges–things I am unwilling to forgive? Do I really want God forgiving me as I have forgiven others if I really have not forgiven others as I should?

I mean, would I want God to treat me as I treat someone who cuts me off on the road. Would I want God yelling, “Idiot! What is your problem!?” and trying to get even? What if God held a grudge for every way in which I have wronged Him? Just asking these questions makes me shudder in a way. If the same standard of forgiveness is extended to me as I extend to those who have wronged me, I am in trouble.

Here is my point: it is far to easy to fly through the Lord’s Prayer and not even realize what we are asking God to do. Do we really want God to forgive us, as we also have forgiven others?

There is no excuse for witholding forgiveness as a Christian. This is clear elsewhere in Scripture as well. “…if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive” (Colossians 3:13). What God has forgiven goes so far beyond anything we could be asked to forgive. He has forgiven every sin that has been committed. Can I say the same? Have I forgiven every wrong committed against me? I don’t think so…it’s not even close.

This is an issue that I know is huge in my life and I am willing to bet is an issue in the lives of many other Christians as well. Ask God what condition your heart is in when it comes to forgiveness. What things have you been unwilling to forgive?

Ask yourself: “If God were to forgive me as I have forgiven others, where would I be?”

A Simple Plan

I watched a really interesting movie the other night that I have been thinking about ever since. I watched A Simple Plan starring Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Brent Briscoe, and Bridget Fonda. The basic plot is that these three guys find a small airplane that has crashed in the middle of the woods. The pilot is dead, and there is a duffel bag in the plane containing $4.4 million–which is a lot of money. The guys have a discussion about what to do with the money. Two of them (Briscoe and Thornton–who are unemployed alcoholics) want to split up the money evenly, but Paxton’s character initially wants to turn the money in to the police.

To make a long movie short, they keep the money. But, through a series of arguments and attempted cover-ups, 6 people end up dead–including Briscoe and Thornton. The money turns out to be ransom from a kidnapping, and when Paxton finds out (after the deaths) that the FBI recorded some of the serial numbers, he burns the money. Yes, that means all those people died for nothing.

This movie provides a look about the perils of greed. Had the money been turned in, six people would have lived. But because of greed, they lost their lives. These people were so taken by the money, that they were willing to do anything, including murder, to make sure they kept it.

To be honest, the movie made me really sad. Yes it is just a movie, but there are millions of people in this country to whom, like the people in this movie, money is everything. At one point during the movie (after several people are already dead) Thornton’s character asks Paxton’s character (they are brothers) something like this, “Hey, after all this is over we’re going to be happy, right?” His answer? “Yes, we’ll be happy.” They thought money would bring them happiness. And there are so many people in this country who believe the same lie. But this movie shows how futile the love of money is, when six people die and the money is burned.

Now, this may be an extreme example. But you do not have to look to hard to find everyday examples of the destructive nature the love of money carries. How about the dad whose family falls apart while he climbs the corporate ladder? Or the man who yells at kids in the neighborhood for having their baseballs roll onto his driveway near his car (true story)? You can name your favorite ridiculous lawsuit. The examples go on and on.

Here is the bottom line truth folks: The love of money is sin, and it is destroying this country. The Bible is pretty cut-and-dry and this issue. Look up Ecclesiastes 5:10, Matthew 6:24, Luke 6:13, 1 Timothy 6:10, and Hebrews 13:5. Money, in and of itself, is not evil. But the worship of money, which is what is happening in our society, is a root of evil. Only evil can come from money-worship.

Sadly, Christians are not doing too much by way of resistance. At a time when Christians ought to be fighting money-worship, the prosperity gospel is at its peak. Joel Osteen is the most popular “pastor” in America. Why? Because Christians love money just as much as the world does. We have not been reading our Bibles. And while we may not be involved in the murders of six people to protect our money, the poison of our money worship is quite evident. It’s time to stand up, and fight against this garbage.

The Prosperity Gospel

From the DG blog:

How does the promise in Psalm 1:3 point to Christ? It says, “In all that he does, he prospers.” The righteous prosper in everything they do. Is this naïve or profoundly true?

In this life the wicked often prosper.

• “Fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” (Psalms 37:7)
• “Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.” (Malachi 3:15)

And in this life the righteous often suffer and their goodness is rewarded with abuse.

• “If we had forgotten the name of our God…would not God discover this? … Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Psalms 44:20-22)

Therefore, when the psalmist says, “He prospers in all that he does,” he is pointing through the ambiguities of this life to life after death where the prosperity of all that we have done will appear.

This is the way Paul thought.

• First, he celebrates the victory of Christ over death.

  “O death, where is your victory? … Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Corinthians 15:55-57).

• Then, second, he draws out the implication that because of this triumph, every work that believers have ever done will prosper.

  “Therefore, my beloved brothers,… your labor is not in vain” (1Corinthians 15:58).

  When something is not in vain, it prospers.

Because Jesus died in our place, he guaranteed that every good deed prospers in the end. “Blessed are you when others revile you…. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:11-12).

Reviled here. Rewarded there.

What seems naïve in the Old Testament (“He prospers in all that he does”) points profoundly to the work of Christ and the reality of resurrection.

A Beautiful Song

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt of life, no fear of death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Simply the Truth

It has been disturbing for me to read and watch popular Evangelical Christian leaders backing away from the essential truth that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. Some Church leaders have decided that in order to keep Christ culturally relevant (or whatever they say) the gospel must become Americanized (meaning tolerant of other religions. While on “Larry King live” Joel Osteen, pastor of the largest Evangelical church in the United States, refused to say that a “good Muslim” or a “good Buddhist” would be shut out of heaven. I recently watched a video on another blog of an Emergent Church leader who also left the door open for other faiths to enter heaven (you have to watch the video yourself to see how off-base this guy really is). Why is it so hard for Christians to defend Christ’s central message? Christ preached over and over again that the only way to heaven is through him. One such example comes in Matthew 25, verses 1 through 13:

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

It does not get much more straightforward than that folks. Those who are not “ready” (have a relationship with Jesus Christ and live according to his word) will not be allowed into the Kingdom of God. This is one of the fundamental points of Christianity. If we as Christians lose this truth, we have lost our faith and Jesus becomes nothing but a “good teacher” or “prophet.” It’s time for the Church to get back to the basics. It’s time for the Church to get back to the truth.

Get Ready, O Please, Get Ready

I have heard John Piper tell this story on a few different occasions and thought I would share it with my faithful blog reader(s).

June 2, 1999

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I got home on Tuesday, June 1, from speaking to a conference in Pennsylvania. One of my messages there was based on Philippians 1:21, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” The first news I heard after I got off the plane was that our much-loved choir member and former deacon, and husband and father and friend, Carl Fredericks, had suddenly died today of a heart attack.

As soon as I got home and had devotions with my family, I spoke with Yvonne, Carl’s wife. She was, of course, overwhelmed by the utter unexpectedness of it all. There is no minimizing the pain. But there is the unwavering Lover of her soul. And he is a tender Rock.

Now I sit here numbed by the back-to-back departures of two of our great older saints, Muriel Sundberg and Carl Fredericks. For me, they framed the congregation visually. Bert and Muriel sat on the west side of the main floor on Sunday morning. Carl and Yvonne sat on the corresponding east side (when the choir wasn’t singing). They were both of the hardy, solid, faithful stock that brings stability and strength. They both loved great music. And they both loved the people of Bethlehem. And now their places are empty. O, so empty.

I want to thank God publicly for these two gifts to Bethlehem. Who can calculate the price of a soul? Just last week the staff was away for two days of praying and fasting and seeking the Lord for the future of Bethlehem. One of the texts we lingered over was Psalm 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Another meaning of the Hebrew word behind “precious” is “costly.” Both are true. To us, so costly. To God, so precious.

Why so precious? One reason is that God gave his own Son to die for Muriel and Carl. When Christ died, their death was defeated. “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55, KJV). In other words, because of Christ’s suffering and the Father’s sacrifice, the death of Muriel and Carl was robbed of its victory.

This means that the death of every saint is a demonstration to all creation that Christ’s atoning death was gloriously successful. It was not in vain. Therefore, the arrival of every saved saint in heaven is another trumpet-tribute to the preciousness of Christ’s life and death on this earth. He must (it seems to me) take each one by the hand, as it were, and lead the saint to the Father, and say, “Look! Another trophy! Another ‘fruit of my travail.’ Another sinner saved and soul made perfect. O Father, look what we have wrought! Is this not precious!”

And costly. O the tears of loss! No, not as those who have no hope, but tears nonetheless. I remember weeping until the heaves continued, but the eyes had no more fluid. Such is the overflowing effect of love, when it is robbed of the beloved.

Dear friends, God is speaking to us all in these sudden, unexpected and painful departures. Are you listening? I said to my family tonight during devotions: it could as easily have been me. Or you. Are we ready? O Bethlehem, are we ready? Do we trust him? Do we love him? Do we live for him? Is he our Love above all loves? Pursue him and know him. Live with him as if tomorrow you might meet him face to face.

Thank you, Lord, for the lives of Muriel and Carl. And thank for the heart-wrenching message of their precious and costly departures. O grant that we might say concerning ourselves – and because of them – “To live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Grieving with hope,

Pastor John

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/1999/1130_Get_Ready_O_Please_Get_Ready/