Tag: Christianity

Loving Christ and his Church

On By BrianIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I had the opportunity today to attend a pastors conference entitled “Don’t Stop Loving The Church” with Kevin DeYoung, Ted Kluck, and Mike Wittmer.  A few take home points:

DeYoung: Some folks want Jesus without the church, but if the church is built on Christ’s foundation, then without the church we have a basement without a house.  If the church is the body of Christ, then without the church we have a head without a body.  If the church is the bride of Christ, then without the church we have a wedding without the bride.

Of course all of these things are absurd (or disgusting), and in the same way so is trying to claim Christ without his church.  If we love Christ, we must love his church.

Wittmer: Some folks want to be part of the universal church but not a local church.  That’s like being married but never living together.  (Think about it.)

Also Wittmer: It is not enough to be Christ-centered.  We need to ask: who is the Christ we are centered on?

Indeed, a good question.  Is it the Jesus revealed in the Bible or a Jesus made up from our own imagination?  This question may have many applications, but on this topic consider that the Jesus of the Bible is passionate about his church (he loved her so much, he died for her – Ephesians 5).  If that is not our view of Jesus, then our view of Jesus is simply wrong.  Or if we hold that view of Jesus but still refuse to love his church, then to that extent we fail to love Jesus.  I will never believe you if you claim to love me but reject my wife.  It is no different if we claim to love Christ but reject his church.

Someone might say that church is full of problems (add your list here).  Granted, but Jesus still loved her and died for her, and he calls us to love with the same love he has.

Let’s drop the nonsense about embracing Jesus but rejecting his church.  If we really love Jesus, we will love his church too.

Ready To Go

On By BrianIn Heart1 Comment

Loss, heartaches, sickness, pain, disease, strife, trials, suffering – sometimes I look around and I’m just ready to go.  Ever feel that way?

Paul writes about this desire in II Corinthians 4:16-5:9.  He reminds us that the glory that is to come is so great that our current struggles are only slight in comparison.  That must be some glory!

He goes on to remind us that we will one day have glorified resurrected bodies.  Our current mortal bodies (our outer nature) are wasting away.  In our mortal bodies we groan.  But one day we will have resurrected bodies.  The mortal will be swallowed up by life – bodies that will not waste away, in which we will not groan.

Yet our resurrection awaits Christ’s return, so what about when we die before he returns? We get a clue from the cross.  Before he died, Jesus cries out to his Father – “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”  When Jesus died, his spirit went to be with the Father.  This is confirmed by his words to the thief on the cross next to him – “Today you will be with me in paradise.”  The body of Jesus would be buried, but his spirit would meet the spirit of the thief in paradise – with the Father.

So Paul writes that he wishes to be away from the body so he might be with the Lord.  While death is not good (being a result of sin and the Fall), on the other side of death is the beginning of glory when we will be with the Lord.  Paul is ready to go so he might be with the Lord.

Are we ready to go?  Not just to see the end of trials, but because we long with Paul to be with Jesus?  Are we that excited about Jesus?

Paul concludes by saying it his goal to please the Lord.  Until God calls us home, we should seek to please him, to live for him, to serve him.  Is that our goal in life?

Ready to go, and living for him until he calls us to himself.  May it be so.

Media Madness

On By BrianIn Habit of Stewardship, Idolatry

We are surrounded by media – TV, movies, radio, music, internet, books, magazines, newspapers, mail, the list goes on.  We are bombarded with media.  Its presence and influence is pervasive; it is everywhere.

Jesus died on a cross and rose again that our sins might be forgiven, that we might be reconciled to God, that we might have a new life in Christ, and the hope of heaven and the resurrection.

How does Christ’s salvation relate to the media?  How should what Christ has done for us affect the way we interact with the media that is all around us?  The book of Ephesians gives us the answer.

The first half of the book speaks of Christ’s salvation.  God chose us to be holy and blameless before him (1:4).  Through Christ, our sins are forgiven, and we have a great inheritance (1:7, 11).  We were dead in our sins following the evil tendencies of a world opposed to God, but God has made us alive in Christ to do good works.  All of these blessings come by God’s mercy, grace, and love as we receive this salvation from sins by faith (2:1-10).  And this salvation is available to all of us (2:11-3:13).

This great salvation then ought to affect the way we live (4:1).  It should affect how we interact in the church (chapter 4), in our culture (5:1-20), in our families (5:22-6:4), and in the workplaces (6:5-9).  As media is such a pervasive part of our culture, the words in Ephesians 5:1-20 can easily be applied to how we interact with the media.  So we find four principles:

1. Guard your heart.  Verse 2 tells us to love as Christ loved us and gave himself as a sacrifice to God.  Christ loved God and us, and we should love that way too.  But it is possible for us to come to love the media – to put it before God and the people around us.  In other words it can become a god, an idol.  It can dominate us, control us – we have to have that new book, we have to see that new movie.  We become puppets, and the media pulls our strings.  Guard your heart, don’t let the media become your god.

2. Use discernment.  Verses 3-10 point us here.  Verse 10 tells us to discern what is pleasing to God.  So we need to ask, does this media choice please God.  If not, don’t watch/listen to/read it.  Verse 3 points to the sex issue.  Does this media cause you to lust (impurity)?  Does this media celebrate sexual immorality – that which God will judge (v6)?  If so, turn it off, get rid of it, walk out.  Verse 4 points to the language issue.  Again, does this media engage in that which God will judge, that which we should not even associate with (v7)?  This may rule out most sitcoms, late night shows, and many movies (even kid movies!), but again is our goal to live for media or God?

There is a wonderful phrase in Latin that Craig Cabaniss mentions in his chapter on media in the book Worldliness, edited by C.J. Mahaney.  The phrase is Coram Deo – “before the face of God.”  Everything we do is done in God’s presence.  Is it pleasing to him?  If Jesus walked this earth today, would you invite him to watch that movie, listen to that music, surf that site, read that book?  The fact is, he is with you as you do all those things.  Is it pleasing to him?

In Psalm 101:3, the psalmist says, “”I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless.”  Have you made that commitment?  Is your goal to please God?  Use discernment.

Before moving on, we need to consider the message in a particular media choice.  Romans 12:2 warns us not to be conformed to the world – that is, the evil tendencies of a world opposed to God.  Does this media choice conform me to the world’s way of thinking.  Is it teaching truth or lies?  There is a grave danger here.  We are tempted to focus on language, sex, etc., but “clean” movies without those things can teach lies, can oppose God and his Word.  And this includes Christian media.  We need to think critically whenever we come to the media.  What is the message?  Does it agree with Scripture?  Use discernment.

3. Practice good stewardship.  Verses 15-16 tell us to make the best use of our time.  Is this media choice the best use of my time right now?  Am I spending too much time with a particular type of media?  Is there something else I should be doing?  Even if our media passes the discernment test, we can spend too much time in front of the TV, on the internet, etc.  We can neglect family, friends, time with God, outdoor recreation.  Practice good stewardship.

4.  Finally, enjoy gratefully.  Verse 20 calls us to give thanks for everything.  Cabaniss ends his chapter on media with this point, and it is a good one.  If our media choice passes the discernment and stewardship and heart principles, then we can enjoy it gratefully.  The other three principles remind us of the dangers of media; this point reminds us that there is a lot of good media out there that we can enjoy and give thanks to God for.

Christ purchased for us a great salvation that should affect the way we live in our culture, how we interact with the media.  Guard your heart.  Use discernment.  Practice good stewardship.  Enjoy gratefully.

Living for God’s Glory 4

On By BrianIn God & His Glory4 Comments

Finally, let me share a few songs that challenge me to live for God’s glory.  First, an older song Dallas Holm used to sing:

“To the glory, the glory of God
To the marvelous glory of God
Every word, every breath
Every action, every step
To the glory, the glory of God”

And then a new song that got me thinking about this again, sung by Aaron Shust:

“To God alone be the glory
To God alone be the praise
Everything I say and do
Let it be all for you
The glory is yours alone”

For the whole song and the video, click here.

May we seek to live every moment for the glory of God!

Living for God’s Glory 3

On By BrianIn God & His Glory

Isaiah makes several references to God’s glory.  Here are just a few:

“I am the LORD; that is my name, my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”  – Isaiah 42:8

“…everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.” – Isaiah 43:7

“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” – Isaiah 43:25

“For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned?  My glory I will not give to another.” – Isaiah 48:11

God is jealous for his glory and will not give it to anyone else.  Are we jealous for his glory, or are we seeking our own glory?  The latter three verses all refer in context to Israel, but can easily apply to the true church as well.  That is, he made us for his glory, he forgives us for his glory, and he restores us for his glory.  Praise the Lord for this!  While we should seek to glorify God with our lives, even more does God’s work in our lives bring him glory.

To the glory of God!

Living for God’s Glory 2

On By BrianIn God & His Glory1 Comment

Here is a second quote on living for God’s glory from I Corinthians 10:31 –

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

The context of that verse is eating food offered to idols with the ideas of living to do what is helpful and builds up (v23), for the good of others rather than just ourselves (v24), and not offending others (v32).  So we live for God’s glory in part when we stop living for ourselves and start loving others.  That and “whatever you do” suggest that all of our lives can be lived for God’s glory.  Do all that you do in love for others to honor God.

To the glory of God!

Living for God’s Glory

On By BrianIn God & His Glory

Let me share a few quotes this week that call us to to live for God’s glory.  The first is from Psalm 115:1 –

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.”

How easy it is to live for our own praise, our own glory, but God calls us to live for his glory.  As we ponder his incredible love toward us through the cross and his faithfulness toward us despite our repeated failures, let us live to praise his name and honor him above all.

For the glory of God!

Delights and Pleasures

On By BrianIn PASSION Quotes

Consider this great quote on cherishing Christ:

“Christ is the very essence of all delights and pleasures, the very soul and substance of them.  As all the rivers are gathered into the ocean, which is the meeting-place of all the waters in the world, so Christ is that ocean in which all true delights and pleasures meet.”  – John Flavel

Overcoming Idolatry

On By BrianIn Heart, Idolatry1 Comment

Other gods call us to bow down and worship them, to treasure them before God.  How can we overcome this idolatry?  How can we leave behind empty things and serve God alone?

First, we need to receive a new heart.  Since the Fall, our hearts are given over to evil (Genesis 6:5), and we need to receive new hearts (Ezekiel 36:26-27).  Put another way, we are dead in our sins and need to be made alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5).  Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead that we might have new hearts.  And all we need to do to receive a new heart is trust in Jesus as our Savior.  It come by faith apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9).  This is the foundation to overcoming idolatry.

Second, we need to continue to look to God.  God gives us a new heart for him, and God will help us overcome idolatry.  Psalm 86:11 is a cry for God to give us undivided hearts.  This needs to be our cry.  We need his help.

Third, we need to identify, guard, and run.  Through Scripture and prayer (Hebrews 4:12 and Psalm 139:23-24), we identify our gods.  Once we know the idols that call our name, we can guard against them – and we must, for our hearts can easily be led astray (Deuteronomy 11:16).  And when the tempation comes – run.  I Corinthians 10:14 tells us to flee.  If an otherwise good thing has become an idol in your life, you may need to just walk away for awhile.  That’s defensive – identify the enemy, guard against it, and retreat.  But we need to go further:

Fourth, renew your mind.  Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  If we think in our minds that an idol is better than God we will serve the idol.  We need to have our thinking changed – what we believe.  This too is a work of God, but we can cooperate with him as we immerse ourselves in his Word, spend time communing with him in prayer, praise him, and participate in godly fellowship that encourages us to treasure God above all else.

When we really believe that God is the best, we will desire him more than anything else, and we will then live for him.  But the world parades false clues leading to false treasures before us, so we must be discerning lest we be conformed to the thinking of the world rather than transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Finally, we must cherish Christ.  This is the goal of mind renewal.  The more we cherish Christ, the more idols will lose their appeal.  As the great hymn reminds us, when we survey what Christ has done for us on the cross, “all the vain things that charm us most” simply lose their appeal.

(For more thoughts on fighting idolatry, see the Three Passions Idolatry page.)

Behind the Curtain

On By BrianIn Heart, Idolatry1 Comment

In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her three strange companions come before Oz.  They see the lights and the smoke, and they tremble before the great Oz – this god.  Only Toto the dog has enough sense to ignore the show, and pull back the curtain that reveals a mere man.

Behind the smoke and lights, glamor and glitz, of our gods is just a person or thing that God made for us to enjoy but not worship.

Don’t waste your awe on what isn’t awesome.

Don’t waste your worship on what isn’t worthy.

At the cross, another curtain was opened that revealed the one true God.  Go in, fall down, and worship Him.