Choices. It seems our culture is obsessed with them. Paper or plastic? Interstate or back roads? DVD or Blu Ray? In Matthew's gospel, ch 7:13-29 Jesus introduces us to a foundational choice, one that I would venture to say speaks to the heart of Christianity itself. Note that Jesus is using a dualistic approach here: two trees, two gates, two foundations. Yes, our society is obsessed with having a multitude of choices, but true, Christ-following faith is no Baskin Robbins. There are no "31 Flavors" of Religion that we can pick from that can get us on God's good side ( see my earlier posts on relativism if you want to delve deeper into this aspect). God has come fully in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christ is not one spiritual guide among many religious gurus. In fact, Paul writes that He is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created...He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy" (cf. Colossians 1:15-18 NIV).
Too often we overcomplicate the choice that is all too simple. This really can be boiled down to asking a single, honest question: "What is going to be my Authority today?"
In other words, Christ, or Culture? The Word, or the World? Self, or Sacrifice? We're either being a shaper of society or we are being shaped by that same society. We have to remember, dear friends--we are called to be the light in this dark world! We are commanded to be this radiant energy that points the way to Christ! Darkness is nothingness. Darkness is the absence of Light. If anyone is living outside of Christ then they are living inside darkness! What are you and I going to do about it?...
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Fwd: Eye Opener
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Arthur Nicewander
Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Subject: Eye Opener
To: Mike Galusha <Mike.Galusha@delta.com>, Ryan Westafer <ryan.westafer@gmail.com>, "Mike &, Mary Galusha" <mjgalusha@comcast.net>, Mary Lynn Kirby <mlk1112002@yahoo.com>, Hugh Kirby <hughk@newhopebc.org>, Michelle Bonner <michellebonnermk@bellsouth.net>, Axal Plangeogoe <axalplangeogoe@yahoo.com>, Hunter Gillam <huntergillam@comcast.net>, Beth Gillam <bethgillam@gmail.com>
So I'm having my QT, when this tiny paragraph out of Paul's letter to the Galatian church decides to reach out and smack me upside my head:
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (1:10 TNIV)
Did you catch that last sentence? What motivates us to worship God? A sense of gratitude or a sense of guilt? A desire to respond to God's grace or a desire to earn it? It's just a humbling thing to have the Spirit lead me to a word that serves to reinforce what I shared with ya'll Sunday. The deeper I delve into the things of God, the more I'm learning to surrender. Not just what I'm comfortable with giving up. ALL of it. My frustration about my job. My worries about providing for my family. My danger of letting my reason drown out my faith.
Saint John of the Cross, a monk from the 14th century, says it better than I can:
"The children of Israel did not find in the manna all the sweetness and strength they might have found in it; not because the manna did not contain them, but because they longed for other meat."
Father, I want to live a life that pleases You. I want to walk through each day depending on Your power, looking for Your hand, listening for the still, small voice of Your guidance. Use me for Your kingdom's purposes. Nudge me into greater acts of faith. Call me to a deeper level of trust. God, soften my heart so that I can live worthy of Your calling and fulfill Your highest purpose for my life.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Knowing is Not Enough
"We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God." I Cor. 8:1-3 (NIV)
The Christian walk is progressive. Once we are saved by placing our faith and assurance in the person of Jesus Christ, our journey begins. We grow from that point onward until we are finally at home with the Lord, face-to-face in Heaven. So how exactly do we grow?
Among other things, we grow in our knowledge of spiritual truths. But here is a reality the Word warns us of: When we grow in our knowledge, there is an inherent danger of being "puffed up" (pride-filled) by that knowledge.
It sounds like a contradiction, I know. You would think that the more knowledge we acquire about God, the more we would be like God. However, knowledge on its own is not enough to make us more like the Lord. It has to be accompanied by God's unconditional love, which the Holy Spirit produces in us (cf. Romans 5:1-5).
If we need any proof of this, all we have to do is take a look at the Pharisees from Jesus' day. These men possessed more knowledge about the Hebrew Scriptures than anyone. They knew each book verbatim and made a career out of "knowing." They had a plethora of knowledge but lacked the love of God, so they became blinded by pride. "We know everything there is to know, so how dare anyone try and teach US anything!" The sad fact is that when the Son of God came to show them what they were missing, they were too proud to receive anything from Him.
Again, knowledge is a good, even a necessary thing in the Christian life. Knowledge apart from the love of God is a very dangerous thing, which is precisely why we are warned to do more than just know. We are told that if we want to have a positive impact and want to truly edify others, we must also love. Saint Francis of Assisi said it best: "Preach the Gospel. If necessary, use words."
Friends, I urge you not to make the mistake of thinking your spiritual knowledge is enough. Pray that you possess God's love in proportion to what you know about Him. Put feet to your faith!
The Christian walk is progressive. Once we are saved by placing our faith and assurance in the person of Jesus Christ, our journey begins. We grow from that point onward until we are finally at home with the Lord, face-to-face in Heaven. So how exactly do we grow?
Among other things, we grow in our knowledge of spiritual truths. But here is a reality the Word warns us of: When we grow in our knowledge, there is an inherent danger of being "puffed up" (pride-filled) by that knowledge.
It sounds like a contradiction, I know. You would think that the more knowledge we acquire about God, the more we would be like God. However, knowledge on its own is not enough to make us more like the Lord. It has to be accompanied by God's unconditional love, which the Holy Spirit produces in us (cf. Romans 5:1-5).
If we need any proof of this, all we have to do is take a look at the Pharisees from Jesus' day. These men possessed more knowledge about the Hebrew Scriptures than anyone. They knew each book verbatim and made a career out of "knowing." They had a plethora of knowledge but lacked the love of God, so they became blinded by pride. "We know everything there is to know, so how dare anyone try and teach US anything!" The sad fact is that when the Son of God came to show them what they were missing, they were too proud to receive anything from Him.
Again, knowledge is a good, even a necessary thing in the Christian life. Knowledge apart from the love of God is a very dangerous thing, which is precisely why we are warned to do more than just know. We are told that if we want to have a positive impact and want to truly edify others, we must also love. Saint Francis of Assisi said it best: "Preach the Gospel. If necessary, use words."
Friends, I urge you not to make the mistake of thinking your spiritual knowledge is enough. Pray that you possess God's love in proportion to what you know about Him. Put feet to your faith!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Distinctions
Just had to share this, as it seems the Lord has been laying this on my heart as of late.
It needs to be said that there is a difference in being a Christian and being a good person. The most recent statistic I read said something that blew my mind. One out of every four Americans claims to be a Christ follower. That's 25% of our total population. It seems to me that if this were indeed the truth, this country would be in a much better position emotionally, economically and spiritually than we are now.
Philip Yancey in his phenomenal book "Reaching for the Invisible God" shares an open letter he penned to God. Though this is his letter, it perfectly captures my intentions in starting and continuing this blog:
" 'You sure don't act as if God is alive'--that's the accusation one of Pattie's friends made to her, and it has haunted me ever since, as a question. Do I act as if You are alive?
Sometimes I treat you as a substance, a narcotic like alcohol or Valium, when I need a fix, to smooth over the harshness of reality, or to take it away. I can sometimes ease off from this world into an awareness of an invisible world; and most of the time I truly believe it exists, as real as this world of oxygen and grass and water. But how do I do the reverse, to let the reality of your world--of You--enter in and transform the numbing sameness of my daily life, and my daily self?
I see progress, I admit. I see you now as someone I respect, even reverence, rather than fear. Now your mercy and grace impress me more than your holiness and awe. Jesus has done that for me, I suppose. He has tamed you, at least enough so that we can live together in the same cage without me cowering in the corner all the time. He has made you appealing, love-able. And I tell myself that he has made me appealing and love-able to you as well. That's not something I could ever come up with on my own; I have to take your word for it. Much of the time, I hardly believe it.
So how do I act as if you're alive? How do the cells of my body, the same ones that sweat and urinate and get depressed and toss and turn in bed at night--how do these cells carry around the splendor of the God of the Universe in a way that leaks out for others to notice? How do I love even one person with the love you came to bring?
Occasionally I get caught up in your world, and love you, and I've learned to cope OK in this world, but how do I bring the two together? That's my prayer, I guess: to believe in the possibility of change. Living inside myself, change is hard to observe. So often it seems like learned behavior, like adaptations to an environment, as the scientists say. How do I let you change me in my essence, in my nature, to make me more like you? Or is that even possible?
Funny, I find it easier to believe in the impossible--to believe in the parting of the Red Sea, to believe in Easter--than to believe in what should seem more possible: the slow, steady dawning of Your life in people like me and Janet and Dave and Mary and Bruce and Kerry and Janice and Paul. Help me to believe in the possible, God."
Friends, calling yourself a good person and simply going to a church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car. It is a living, active relationship with a living, active person, the person of Jesus Christ.
It needs to be said that there is a difference in being a Christian and being a good person. The most recent statistic I read said something that blew my mind. One out of every four Americans claims to be a Christ follower. That's 25% of our total population. It seems to me that if this were indeed the truth, this country would be in a much better position emotionally, economically and spiritually than we are now.
Philip Yancey in his phenomenal book "Reaching for the Invisible God" shares an open letter he penned to God. Though this is his letter, it perfectly captures my intentions in starting and continuing this blog:
" 'You sure don't act as if God is alive'--that's the accusation one of Pattie's friends made to her, and it has haunted me ever since, as a question. Do I act as if You are alive?
Sometimes I treat you as a substance, a narcotic like alcohol or Valium, when I need a fix, to smooth over the harshness of reality, or to take it away. I can sometimes ease off from this world into an awareness of an invisible world; and most of the time I truly believe it exists, as real as this world of oxygen and grass and water. But how do I do the reverse, to let the reality of your world--of You--enter in and transform the numbing sameness of my daily life, and my daily self?
I see progress, I admit. I see you now as someone I respect, even reverence, rather than fear. Now your mercy and grace impress me more than your holiness and awe. Jesus has done that for me, I suppose. He has tamed you, at least enough so that we can live together in the same cage without me cowering in the corner all the time. He has made you appealing, love-able. And I tell myself that he has made me appealing and love-able to you as well. That's not something I could ever come up with on my own; I have to take your word for it. Much of the time, I hardly believe it.
So how do I act as if you're alive? How do the cells of my body, the same ones that sweat and urinate and get depressed and toss and turn in bed at night--how do these cells carry around the splendor of the God of the Universe in a way that leaks out for others to notice? How do I love even one person with the love you came to bring?
Occasionally I get caught up in your world, and love you, and I've learned to cope OK in this world, but how do I bring the two together? That's my prayer, I guess: to believe in the possibility of change. Living inside myself, change is hard to observe. So often it seems like learned behavior, like adaptations to an environment, as the scientists say. How do I let you change me in my essence, in my nature, to make me more like you? Or is that even possible?
Funny, I find it easier to believe in the impossible--to believe in the parting of the Red Sea, to believe in Easter--than to believe in what should seem more possible: the slow, steady dawning of Your life in people like me and Janet and Dave and Mary and Bruce and Kerry and Janice and Paul. Help me to believe in the possible, God."
Friends, calling yourself a good person and simply going to a church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car. It is a living, active relationship with a living, active person, the person of Jesus Christ.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
True Evangelism
Evangelism as it pertains to social action should be the primary focus of anyone who calls himself a follower of Christ. The reason I am so passionate about this issue is simply because I believe that the area of true evangelism is an area that the modern church is dangerously weak in. The more I leave my protective "bubble" of home or even church and begin to get involved in the "real world," the more I find that the primary motives of the 21st century church have shifted drastically. The cultural cancer of moral relativism, it seems, even has the ability to seep through even the most tightly sealed sanctuary doors.
"What is true for me may not be true for you." Sadly this is a sentiment that is becoming more the rule instead of the exception in our society today. There is a danger for us as Christians living in 2011 to want to make our faith comfortable, convenient and safe. "Tolerance" is key. We do not want to offend anyone with the message that Scripture contains. It is due to this relativistic attitude seen within so many churches that the Biblical command of evangelism haa been strangled or even silenced altogether. Instead of setting our sights on reaching the lost or making an impact within our own social circles, we choose to take care of "our own" first and let those "pagans" worry about their own souls.
In his book "Messy Spirituality," Michael Yaconelli also speaks to this very issue, accusing the church of giving in to moral relativism, of becoming self-centered rather than seeker-friendly. According to the author, Jesus' willingness to evangelize the lost "scandalized an intimidating, elitist, country-club religion by opening membership to those who had been denied it" (pg. 47). In other words, what we in the modern body of Christ have to realize is that not only is Biblical, saving faith loyal identification of Jesus, it also is transforming faith, and thus it always has social dimensions! These dimensions can include loving one another, forgiving one another, giving restitution for wrongs done, or acts of compassion. Please notice that last statement--ACTS of compassion. True faith, and by extension true Christian living, will always involve action of some sort (cf. the NT book of James).
Nothing makes "church people" more angry than Grace. It's ironic: we stumble into a party we are not invited to and find the uninvited standing at the doors, making sure no other uninviteds get in. Then a strange phenomenon occurs: as soon as we have been included in the party because of Jesus' great love, we decide to make grace "more responsible" by becoming self-appointed Kingdom Hall Monitors, guarding the doors to the kingdom of God, keeping the riff-raff out (which, as I understand it, are who the kingdom of God is supposed to include).
Religious people love to bide behind their religion. They love the rules of religion more than they love Jesus. With enough practice, adherents to the "extremes" of Christianity, be they Legalists or Liberals, let the rules become more important than the spiritual life or the souls of the lost. The tenets of their faith are much more vital than seeking to transform a wayward culture.
What those of us living in 2011 have to realize is that the spiritual life is not just about the rules and regulations, traditions and teachings, lectures and sermons. Life with Jesus is meant to be LIVED, not smothered, dissected, inspected, or condemned. Daily picking up our cross and following Jesus means that we need to desperately, passionately seek to transform the culture, not block it out. We need to open our arms as well as our hearts to those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and prove to them we truly care by our actions. There needs to be an unwavering commitment to developing the mind of Christ, as well as a cultivation of said Christian mind. Frankly, I believe with all that is in me that there needs to be an integration (rather than a separation) of faith and reason.
"What is true for me may not be true for you." Sadly this is a sentiment that is becoming more the rule instead of the exception in our society today. There is a danger for us as Christians living in 2011 to want to make our faith comfortable, convenient and safe. "Tolerance" is key. We do not want to offend anyone with the message that Scripture contains. It is due to this relativistic attitude seen within so many churches that the Biblical command of evangelism haa been strangled or even silenced altogether. Instead of setting our sights on reaching the lost or making an impact within our own social circles, we choose to take care of "our own" first and let those "pagans" worry about their own souls.
In his book "Messy Spirituality," Michael Yaconelli also speaks to this very issue, accusing the church of giving in to moral relativism, of becoming self-centered rather than seeker-friendly. According to the author, Jesus' willingness to evangelize the lost "scandalized an intimidating, elitist, country-club religion by opening membership to those who had been denied it" (pg. 47). In other words, what we in the modern body of Christ have to realize is that not only is Biblical, saving faith loyal identification of Jesus, it also is transforming faith, and thus it always has social dimensions! These dimensions can include loving one another, forgiving one another, giving restitution for wrongs done, or acts of compassion. Please notice that last statement--ACTS of compassion. True faith, and by extension true Christian living, will always involve action of some sort (cf. the NT book of James).
Nothing makes "church people" more angry than Grace. It's ironic: we stumble into a party we are not invited to and find the uninvited standing at the doors, making sure no other uninviteds get in. Then a strange phenomenon occurs: as soon as we have been included in the party because of Jesus' great love, we decide to make grace "more responsible" by becoming self-appointed Kingdom Hall Monitors, guarding the doors to the kingdom of God, keeping the riff-raff out (which, as I understand it, are who the kingdom of God is supposed to include).
Religious people love to bide behind their religion. They love the rules of religion more than they love Jesus. With enough practice, adherents to the "extremes" of Christianity, be they Legalists or Liberals, let the rules become more important than the spiritual life or the souls of the lost. The tenets of their faith are much more vital than seeking to transform a wayward culture.
What those of us living in 2011 have to realize is that the spiritual life is not just about the rules and regulations, traditions and teachings, lectures and sermons. Life with Jesus is meant to be LIVED, not smothered, dissected, inspected, or condemned. Daily picking up our cross and following Jesus means that we need to desperately, passionately seek to transform the culture, not block it out. We need to open our arms as well as our hearts to those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and prove to them we truly care by our actions. There needs to be an unwavering commitment to developing the mind of Christ, as well as a cultivation of said Christian mind. Frankly, I believe with all that is in me that there needs to be an integration (rather than a separation) of faith and reason.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Thoughts on Philippians
How often do the circumstances of life determine the quality of our worship? When things are going well, we find it easy to offer thanks to God. When times are difficult, worship can be a struggle (to say the least!) We wonder: "How can I worship God when my life is so hard?"
The apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians helps us answer this question. His physical situation could not be much worse. He is locked in chains because of his testimony to Christ (1:12-13). Yet Paul fills his letter with worship, even with rejoicing (1:4; 2:17; 4:10). How is this possible? How can one who is suffering nevertheless "rejoice in the Lord"?
In part, Paul rejoices because of his "partnership in the gospel" with the Philippian church. This congregation not only responded to Paul's preaching with faith but also joined in his evangelistic enterprise (1:3-5 + 4:15). Furthermore, Paul exults because he knows that God will complete the " good work" He has begun among the Philippians (1:6). On the day when Christ returns, they will be "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God" (1:11). Accordingly, Paul is able to rejoice in suffering because he looks ahead to the glorious day of Christ. We too can worship with gladness when we lift our eyes above our momentary afflictions and focus on the innumerable blessings of eternity.
When we suffer, the vision of Christ's ultimate victory and glory sustains us and fills us with gladness. After urging the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, Paul invites them to think in new ways. Though Paul would not advise us to deny the reality of our pain, neither would he support undue fixation upon earthly struggles. Instead, we should turn our attention to things that are true, noble, right, etc. In other words, we should occupy our minds with God and with His good gifts. We are enabled to worship, no matter what our circumstances, when we remember all that God has given to us.
The apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians helps us answer this question. His physical situation could not be much worse. He is locked in chains because of his testimony to Christ (1:12-13). Yet Paul fills his letter with worship, even with rejoicing (1:4; 2:17; 4:10). How is this possible? How can one who is suffering nevertheless "rejoice in the Lord"?
In part, Paul rejoices because of his "partnership in the gospel" with the Philippian church. This congregation not only responded to Paul's preaching with faith but also joined in his evangelistic enterprise (1:3-5 + 4:15). Furthermore, Paul exults because he knows that God will complete the " good work" He has begun among the Philippians (1:6). On the day when Christ returns, they will be "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God" (1:11). Accordingly, Paul is able to rejoice in suffering because he looks ahead to the glorious day of Christ. We too can worship with gladness when we lift our eyes above our momentary afflictions and focus on the innumerable blessings of eternity.
When we suffer, the vision of Christ's ultimate victory and glory sustains us and fills us with gladness. After urging the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, Paul invites them to think in new ways. Though Paul would not advise us to deny the reality of our pain, neither would he support undue fixation upon earthly struggles. Instead, we should turn our attention to things that are true, noble, right, etc. In other words, we should occupy our minds with God and with His good gifts. We are enabled to worship, no matter what our circumstances, when we remember all that God has given to us.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
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