What I'm Reading...

The Life We Live

One could ask the question, "What does your life say about you?" But I think a more important question is, "What does your life say about your faith?" In Deuteronomy 18:9, God tells the Israelites, "...be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there." A little further down he says, "You must be blameless before the Lord your God." (18:13 NLT) Blameless? Really? What a tall order for the children of God to fulfill. Wouldn't it be nice if this was an isolated passage we could quickly skim over? But over and over in Scripture we find that how we live shouts out what we really believe. We can easily give lip service to how much God means to us or what a wonderful day it was when Jesus saved us. But what did our lives say yesterday about our faith in Christ? What did our interactions with friends, family and co-workers reveal to them about how much Christ affects our lives on a daily basis. Our lives will always speak louder than our mouths! Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. -John the Baptist (Matthew 3:8 NLT)

Is God In Control?

I had the opportunity to speak last weekend at Ashworth Road. The topic was, "Is God In Control?" To listen to the podcast, click this link: http://ashworthroad.com/admin/assets/mp3s/052409.mp3.

Getting to Know You

All too often, we find ourselves replacing the act of knowing God with service for God. Somewhere along the way, we have gotten in our minds that the more I DO for God shows how much I love God. Unfortunately this doesn't quite match up with what God desires. Hosea 6:3 says, "Oh that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him." (NLT) In today's culture, knowing is equated with facts and figures. We assume we know God if we understand that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, gracious, etc. But the word "know" here carries with it the idea of a personal relationship. To truly know God means to have an intimate, personal relationship with him. This can only come about by spending quality time WITH him. I find it interesting that a little further down in this chapter, it reads, "I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings." (Hosea 6:6b) More than God wants our service, he wants us. May our lives be consumed with the pursuit of "knowing" God.

The Gay Debate

Iowa is now right in the middle of the gay marriage debate. The Supreme Court of Iowa said that marriage cannot be denied to gay couples. The traditional conservative mantra has been, "Homosexuality is a sin; If you will change your lifestyle, we will let you in." The extreme right even boasts with clever slogans that proclaim, "God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve." But is this the response Christ would have if he were walking bodily on the earth today. I must admit my struggle with how traditional Christianity has approached this topic in the past. Recently, Tim (our Lead Pastor at Ashworth Road) and I hosted a Pastor's Roundtable where we asked the question, "What should the church's response be to the Gay and Lesbian Community?" Our first meeting was beneficial. Several local pastors, ministers and priests attended. We all quickly realized we were in the same boat. We agreed to meet again in a month to discuss the book, "Love Is an Orientation" by Andrew Marin. This book is incredible. I highly recommended it for any Christian looking for answers on how to talk with gay friends and family members. This book is insightful and answers the questions that seem to end discussions between gay and straight people. Questions like, "Do you think homosexuality is a sin?" and "Do you think gays and lesbians are born that way?" Andrew Marin, after immersing himself in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) community in Chicago's Boystown, tackles this difficult subject head on and gives believers something to think about in how they deal with the gay topic. By elevating the conversation beyond the closed questions above, Marin reminds us that the most important thing we can do is help others, whether they are gay or straight, in their, "spiritual growth while trusting Jesus to commmunicate to an individual his heart and will through a growing relationship with him." The primary theme of the book is love. Regardless of someone's sexual orientation, Christ commands us to love. As Billy Graham once said, "It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict, God's job to judge and my job to love." This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it.

The Great Exchange

Hosea 4:7 says that the priests, "exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols." (NLT) I can't help but wonder what in our lives have we exchanged for the glory and power of God. It is so easy to become distracted by the multiple things in this life that compete for our attention. Even good things pull us away. But at what price?! God has given us His presence, His glory, His power. It seems to me that when we make this exchange, it may feel like a good deal at the time but I am certain we are walking away with something of much less value when we do. Maybe it is time to evaluate our lives and go back and "re-exchange" whatever it takes to recapture the glory of God in our lives. "Such people claim they know God, but they deny Him by the way they live." Titus 1:16a NLT

The Value of Christian Friends

In our Student Ministry last week, I had two seniors share their insights on what they had learned over the years. I was stuck by the comments of one of the teens. He shared that one thing he would change about his time in high school is that he would have surrounded himself with more Christian friends. 2 Timothy 2:22b says, "Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts." (NLT) Paul understood the challenges of holy living especially as a young person. His admonition to Timothy to surround himself with other believers was timely. It is easy to be swayed in our beliefs and begin compromising our faith. If we put others in our lives to encourage us along the journey and strengthen us when the going gets tough, we will always, "be ready for the Master to use [us] for every good work." (2 Timothy 2:21b NLT) Who are your companions?

God's Self-Revelation

If you ask 10 different people, “Who is God?” you would probably get 10 different answers. Everyone develops an understanding of God based on their life experiences. Some see God as the great, cosmic Santa Claus, there to grant their every wish and desire. Others see God as a harsh judge waiting to pounce on them and punish them at their first mistake. Of all the views people hold of God, how do we know which view of God is right? How do we know God? The reality is that God has taken steps to reveal himself to his creation. He has done this in several ways. One way God reveals Himself is through his creation, or through Natural Revelation. Romans 1 tells us that God has revealed himself through his creation. Natural Revelation is a general revelation because it is made available to everyone, everywhere at all times. Through his creation, God has revealed himself to the world by manifesting some of his divine qualities in his creation. God has left his mark on the world. Psalm 19 is a great example of this:

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth and their words to all the world. (Psalm 19:1-4 NLT)

It is important to note that even though it is through Natural Revelation that God has revealed himself, natural revelation is limited in the amount of information it reveals about God. Natural revelation by itself is enough to show the world there is a God, but not enough to save the world. God goes the additional step of revealing himself in special ways also, known as Special Revelation. One of these ways is through the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16 states that the Bible is God self-revelation through the written word. This passage states that, “all Scripture is inspired by God…” The word inspired means God-breathed. The Scripture originated in the mind of God and was communicated by the mouth of God though the breath of God. It is God’s Word because he spoke it. The Bible reveals to us what God is like and his plan for us. God also revealed himself to us through his Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus is the consummate revelation of God. Hebrews 1:1-3 tells us that Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of God. Jesus’ revelation to us is complete in every detail. The revelation of God through Christ is not just a better revelation, it is the ultimate revelation. Jesus Christ perfectly shows all that is knowable about God. If we cannot learn about God from the Son, then there is no amount of additional revelation God could do to convince us. The Hebrews passage says that Christ “radiates God’s own glory.” This tells us he is not like God; he is the very essence of God. Just as one cannot separate the sun’s light from the sun itself, no one can separate the nature of Christ from that of God. The passage also says that Christ “expresses the very character of God.” The word “expresses” gives the picture of a die or engraving. Just as a coin reflects the exact image of the die, so Jesus reproduces the precise character of the Father. Jesus affirmed this himself when he told Philip, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” (John 14:8 NLT) So what does this mean? It tells us that God has taken the first steps to reveal himself to man. He wants to be known. It’s undeniable that if he didn’t want to be known, we wouldn’t know him! God has revealed himself to us because of his great love for us. John 3:16 testifies to his love for his creation. God promises eternal life for those that believe in his Son. Eternal life isn’t just a great thing for when we die. Eternal life begins the moment we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. Eternal life is to know God and to be in a relationship with and experience the blessings which flow from that relationship both now and in the age to come. God has already taken the steps to reveal himself to us, how will you respond to him?