Love God, Then Do Whatever You Want

This is one of a number of recent posts at the blog Feeding the Soul which is part of an English & Spanish organization, BBG Ministry. I considered several posts at their blog for today; this one is actually the most current. It also reminded me of the statement often used as a response to, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart…” that “the desires of the righteous are righteous desires.”

St. Augustine, an influential Christian author of the fourth century A.D., wrote this: “Love God and do as you please.” On the surface, that may seem like a license for sin—”As long as I love God, I can do anything I want, and God’s okay with whatever I do.”

But Augustine seemed to realize that if you genuinely love God, then you will want to do what honors him most. Just as a married woman who loves her husband will want to make him look good, lift him up, and honor him, so also a person who loves God will want to glorify, magnify, and honor him. If you truly love God, then his Holy Spirit will transform you such that what pleases God will become what pleases you.

Jesus, who is God, made this observation: “If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15). Similarly, the Apostle John wrote, “This is love for God: to obey his commands” (1 John 5:3). And finally, the Psalmist wrote, “I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly” (Psalm 119:167).

When we love God, then we want to obey him; obeying him becomes a sign that we love him. Jesus linked love for God with obeying the commandments (i.e., with obeying God’s law) in this way: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40).

If you love God, then his Holy Spirit, who dwells in you, will conform you—all of you, including your desires—into the image of his Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). In this way, what pleases you and what pleases God become one and the same such that if you love God, you can do whatever pleases you and God will be pleased.

Imitate Me, As I (try to) Imitate Christ

Jon Swanson’s blog, 300 Words a Day is one of a very few listed in this blog’s sidebar because of his consistent devotional focus.   This piece appeared there several days ago under the much simpler (!) title, Being a Model…

Am I living a life I’d want someone to copy?

Why not?

Those two sentences found their way into my journal over the weekend, as I was thinking about a presentation I’ve got coming up. I’m going to talk about being and making disciples. (That subject has shown up as my one word and in my list of 8 ways to get better at following.)

As I thought about the idea of making disciples, of developing followers, I realized that part of making a disciple is being willing to be a model.

I hate that. So do you. The last thing we want is for someone to use our life as a pattern. We know all of the ways that we fail. We know all the strategies that don’t work. We know how we don’t measure up. We know how we hurt someone we love.  We are, we think, models for spiritual failure.

But I think I’m wrong.

Paul consistently said, “Here are my failures. Here’s what I don’t do well. Here’s what God does wonderfully, sometimes in spite of me, sometimes through me.” He said this especially to Timothy, his most mentioned disciple. (A working definition of a disciple is a person who chooses to allow the life and teaching of someone to shape his/her own life.)

Helping people learn how to follow Jesus doesn’t mean being perfect.

It means being translucent, keeping the details hidden but allowing the outline of your humanity to show. It means acknowledging the failures and the forgiveness. It means showing when you let your mouth get ahead of your brain, here is how you ask forgiveness.

When you don’t know how to talk to God, here’s where you start. When you feel like you aren’t measuring up, here’s how you stop trying so hard.

~ Jon Swanson

Tell Out My Soul

This is a hymn that is not well-known in North America, though I heard a version here once with a tune that did not do the lyrics justice. This is a song worthy of a resurgence; a composition that sounds like much of today’s Sovereign Grace titles with a melody that holds up well in the 21st century and lyrics that affirm the majesty and glory of God.

And here’s a bonus version, done in a high-church style, which is how I heard this song the first time over 30 years ago. I’m a huge fan of today’s modern worship, but here is a case where the traditional music and lyrics blend perfectly.

“Make know His might, the deeds His arm has done.”

Introducing the Ministry of Ann Voskamp

We’re going to take a break today from the regular format to introduce daily devotional and Bible study readers to the ministry of Ann Voskamp, author of the just-published One Thousand Gifts.

First, you might want to get to know Ann’s website, A Holy Experience.  Make sure your speakers are turned on, as music plays underneath.  Or not.  I read one reviewer who valued Ann’s words so much, readers were advised to make sure their speakers were turned off!  I guess we each process things differently.

Second, read Ann’s story.  Some of you have blogs of your own and you’ve had that experience of creating an “about” page where you try to sum up your life journey in a few words for people who you’ve never met.  If not, open a word processing program or open a blank e-mail and take about fifteen minutes to craft your own personal “about” page.  (If you like the result, you can post it here as a comment!)

Finally, watch and listen to an excerpt from the book in this video.  Usually on days like this I embed a Christian worship video, but this time we’re going for a different kind of video that is so suited to Ann’s ministry. I realize not all of you are into poetry, but consider the following:

1. The Bible devotes five books to wisdom literature, much of which is poetic in form.
2. In many places that we don’t think of as poetry, the simple repetition of words (i.e. “Holy, Holy, Holy”) is following Hebrew poetic forms familiar to the audience.  There is a beauty to the language of scripture that our language, English, causes us to overlook.
3. The Bible is filled with Psalms in places other than the book that bears that name.  Mary greets the angel’s news that she is the one chosen to bear the Messiah with the song we know as The Magnificat.  While it is largely a reiteration of various scripture; combined it becomes poetic.  The passage in Philippians about Christ’s humility (“Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus…”) is indented in most modern Bibles because it’s recognized as an early Church hymn.

So watch, listen and enjoy…

The Chastisement Of Our Peace

He was wounded for our transgressions.

Those words, from the KJV of Isaiah 53:5 are probably among the scripture verses most known by heart.

By his stripes we are healed.

If you grew up Pentecostal or Charismatic, there is no escaping teaching on that part of the verse; no escaping the connect-the-dots between the scourging Christ suffered and the healing that is available to us today, in the 21st century.

But what about the third of the four clauses in that verse?  Here’s the whole verse in the new NIV:

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah, in this Messianic prophecy is saying that Christ’s suffering has brought us forgiveness for our transgressions and iniquities as well as (if you’re not dispensationalist) healing of mind and body.

But there it is, in the second-to-last, a reference to peace.

I mention all this because of a post I did this morning at Thinking Out Loud, where a U.S. pastor had his congregation complete an index card indicating the trials they were facing and the burdens they were carrying.  If Isaiah 53 applies, then it must apply to the point of bringing peace to the very doubts, anxieties, fears, angers, jealousies, anger, pride, insecurities, addictions, pain, disappointments, attitudes… and everything else that people mentioned on those little 3-by-5 cards.

First, let’s do some translation hopping:

• He took the punishment, and that made us whole (Message)
• The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him (NASB)
• the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him (Amplified)
• He was beaten so we could be whole.  (NLT)
• The punishment which gives us the peace has fallen on him (tr. of French – Louis Segond)

Clearly, the intent of this verse is that our peace is part of the finished work of Christ on the cross.

The New International Bible Commentary says:

Peace and healing view sin in terms of the estrangement from God and the marring of sinners themselves that it causes.

The ESV Study Bible notes on this verse concur:

His sufferings went to the root of all human vice.

Lack of peace as sin?  Worry and anxiety as sin?  That’s what both of these commentators seem to say.

The Wycliffe Bible Commentary makes clear however that the peace that is brought is a general well-being, not simply addressing the consequences of sin.

But in the Evangelical Bible Commentary, something else is suggested, that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is bringing a peace that represents the restoration between God and man.

Many of the other commentaries and study Bibles I own do not directly address this phrase.  A broader study of the chapter reveals a Messiah suffering for all of the burdens we bear, such as the ones listed above in the pastor’s survey.  (“Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear…”)

I’d be interested if any of you can find any blog posts or online articles where this particular phrase is addressed apart from the wider consideration of the verse as a whole.

At this point, let’s conclude by saying that the finished work of Christ on the cross is sufficient for all manner of needs we face; all types of burdens we carry.

The Most Important Book You’ve Never Heard Of

There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between the two ways.

~Didache 1:1

While New Testament scholars always knew it existed, it was not until 1873 when a dusty, worn copy was pulled off an Istanbul library shelf by an Archbishop who promptly left it on his desk to attend to other matters, where it sat for months before he finally grasped what it is he had discovered.  In fact, the document whose lost text he had discovered was once considered for inclusion in the Biblical canon.

The Didache (pronounced DID-ah-kay) is only about half the length of the Gospel of Mark, but it provides an intimate view of Christian life and Christian community for the early church in the period following the apostles.  There are many books on the subject, but a simple introduction — along with a copy of the complete text — is Tony Jones’ The Teaching of the 12 (Paraclete Press, 2009).

(Random) Highlights:

• Let your alms sweat in your hands until you know to whom to give them. (1:6)
• Do not be one who opens his hands to receive, or closes them when it is time to give. (4:5)
• Do not give orders to your servants when you are angry, for they hope in the same God…  (4:10)
• Your fasts should not be with the hypocrites, for they fast on Mondays and Thursdays. You should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. (8:1)
• [Concerning the Eucharist, give thanks this way] “Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills and was gathered together and became one, so let your church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into your kingdom…” (9:4)
• Let every apostle who comes to you be received as the Lord. But he must not remain more than one day, or two, if there’s a need.  If he stays three days he is a false prophet. (11:4,5)
• Concerning Baptism, you should baptize this way: After first explaining all things, baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit in flowing water.  (7:1, italics added)
• Hate no one; correct some, pray for others, and some you should love more than your own life. (2:7)

The early Christians were also told to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times daily (8:3) and if they baked bread, to give the first loaf to the prophets (13;5).  The translation above is from Tony Jones’ book, and seems to be closest to one online by Charles Hoole.

So in a post-DaVinci Code climate, where does a document like this fit in?

First of all, we have all we need in the Bible, and no one should feel compelled to read extra-Biblical writings like this, much less those on the periphery such as The Gospel of Thomas.

But for those who want a snapshot of post-New-Testament life, this document has the recommendation of many respected pastors, though don’t expect a movie anytime soon.

DVD: Just minutes after posting this, I discovered that there is now a 6-week curriculum DVD available based on Tony Jones’ book.  Here’s some info — and a 2-minute promo video — from Tony’s blog, Theoblogy.

Only God’s Spirit Can Reveal Truth and Counter Error

I posted this earlier today at Thinking Out Loud, and decided it belongs here as well. Classic Christianity by Bog George remains one of my all-time favorite Christian books. This excerpt is from an early chapter where he talks about separating truth from error.

There’s a big difference between knowing what something says and knowing what it means. Millions of Christians know what the Bible says, but many do not know what it means, because that can only be revealed by the Spirit. Man’s pride rebels against the idea that he cannot understand spiritual truth on his own but this is what the Bible clearly says:

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. (I Cor 2:14)

The reason why is very simple, there is no human alive who can read another man’s mind and if we cannot know what another human being is thinking how much less can we ever know what God is thinking? I Cor 2:11 reminds us of this:

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

How then can God teach us his thoughts? “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us.” (v. 12) Man does not need the enlightening ministry of the Holy Spirit to understand the law; the law was given specifically for the natural man. We need the Holy Spirit to open our minds to the things having to do with the unfathomable riches of His love and grace, those things that “God has freely given us.” Those truths are described in I Cor. 2:9 this way:

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.

In order to understand the things that God wants to teach us regarding His grace we must have a humble, teachable attitude for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6) Just as the same sun that melts wax hardens clay, the same message of God’s grace that softens the heart of the humble hardens the proud. The proud cannot receive grace because the proud will not receive grace…

That is why an uneducated but humble person will receive far more genuine and intimate knowledge of God Himself than a highly educated but arrogant theologian…

Bob George, Classic Christianity

Proving God In The Everyday

This devotional article is by Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevate in Charlotte, North Carolina and author of the book Sun Stand Still.  It appeared on his blog a few days ago under the title Real Courage.

So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” ~ Daniel 6:16

Daniel is one of the most courageous and faithful men in the entire Bible. But not for the reasons we usually think.

For example, when telling the story of Daniel and the lions’ den, most people usually focus on Daniel’s courage in the lions’ den itself. But what’s curiously missing from the whole story is any description of Daniel’s experience in it. Not one word.

153 verses on his life before the lions’ den. Aside from when he tells the king that God had shut the mouths of the lions, zero describing his time in it.

And the reason is because Daniel’s courage and faith in the lions’ den isn’t the point. After all, shutting the mouths of the lions was God’s thing. Once Daniel gets thrown in the lions’ den, what is he really going to do?

Daniel’s courage and faithfulness was shown in the way he lived that got him thrown into the lions’ den. The real miracle was when his enemies were looking for a way to accuse him but they couldn’t find anything in his life. So they had to make up a law forbidding prayer to anyone but the king to get him thrown in. And yet he still prayed. That’s real courage. That’s real faith. And it was that courage and faith that became the setup for God’s display of faithfulness.

I think most people want a lions’ den experience. Maybe not the danger, but they do want to see God do huge things in their life. Come through for them in big ways. Decisively display His deliverance. Show people that our God is still a God who can accomplish the impossible.

But most people will never have the opportunity to prove God’s faithfulness in the lions’ den because they have not proved their faith in everyday life.

They’re not going to see God come through for them in a huge way financially because they haven’t learned to trust Him with 10% of what they have. They’re not going to see increased favor at work because they segregate God from their work. They’re not going to see God use them in powerful ways at their school because they live in such a way that no one knows they even believe in God.

Don’t try to be like Daniel in the lions’ den. Be like Daniel who prayed every day and had integrity. Be like Daniel and serve God continually in every aspect of your life. Have the courage and faith to live in such a way that God actually has a platform to show His faithfulness from.

And then God will do His thing in the lions’ den.

The Difference A Life Made

William Tyndale

Because 2011 is the 400th anniversary of the King James translation of the Bible, North American newspaper writers are tripping over themselves to write something relevant about a 400-year old book that many of them would never otherwise consider reading.

The Toronto Star was no exception yesterday.

I found it interesting that they traced the development of the Bible back an extra century to the work that William Tyndale did.

Reporter Ron Csillag notes:

William Tyndale, scored the first printed English translation of the New Testament in 1526. Working directly from the Hebrew and Greek texts, his was a plain and vigorous English, designed to make the work accessible to “the boy that driveth the plough.” Some 3,000 of Tyndale’s translations were printed in Germany. Many were smuggled into England, where most were seized and burned as heretical, and Tyndale himself was burned at the stake in Belgium.

I’d heard that part before.  But here’s the part that I didn’t know:

But the scholars who laboured for seven years under James’s royal mandate must have found his words inspiring: It’s estimated that 80 per cent of Tyndale’s translation was incorporated into the KJV.

Eighty per cent!  That part, I hadn’t heard before. The Bible that has served the English speaking world so well for many years is really, four-fifths of it anyway, the Tyndale Bible.

The translation laboriously translated from the Hebrew and Greek by William Tyndale, the Bible translation that he believed in, the translation work that ultimately cost him his life; four-fifths of that is the very same translation whose survival four hundred years later — a fact that would totally amaze Tyndale given how the language has changed — is still being read by some people and still being sold in some Christian bookstores.  400 years later!

That’s the difference his life made.

What difference is my life making?

What difference is your life making?

Captivated By A Person

Peter Mead is full-time with Operation Mobilization in the UK.  He blogs at Biblical Preaching where this article appeared this week under the title, Shine the Light on the Core Issue

It struck me afresh recently that many in our churches may be missing a very crucial element of Christianity.

They know the answers, they’ve prayed the prayer, they go to church, they live good lives, they may even witness (or they know that they should), they have grown to enjoy Christian gatherings, they see the emptiness of the world’s alternatives, they can explain the gospel, they look the part, they serve the church, they teach the children, they give to the collection, they make sacrificial decisions, they pray and they mean it and on it goes.  So much Christianity wrapped up in one life, but yet, what is missing?

Christ.

Christianity is not religion, nor is it ecclesiology, nor is it church participation, nor moral and ethical living, nor family tradition, nor schedule commitments, nor participation in a social gathering, nor any number of other things people seem to make it.  Christianity is about being in relationship with Christ.

When I first met my future wife and then returned home to England I spoke about her to folks here.  I remember one particular conversation.  I was enthusing about the person who I thought I might actually get to marry.  He was melancholic about the whole concept of relationships.  I shared information about her.  He shared complaints about the whole structure of dating and courting and marriage in his experience.  I talked about her.  He had yet more to say about the “institution” of romance.

I suppose you could observe that we were talking about the same thing.  The difference was that I was captivated by a person, he was not.

I wonder how many in the church today are ticking the boxes and we all assume they are safely in the family of God, but actually they are not.  One of the most overlooked verses in all of Scripture is in I Cor.16 where Paul states that “if any man does not love Christ, he is accursed.”  Perhaps we should be far slower to assume people are already born again based on the indicators of their confession, conduct and church participation.  Perhaps we should be looking for that delight that comes only from someone who knows someone special.  And perhaps in our preaching we should look for ways to shine the light of the Word beyond the peripheral issues, through the created “christian” structures that people hold to be their faith, and show the empty place where Christ should be captivating the heart and changing everything from the inside out.

– Peter Mead

Peter’s current product involves giving leadership to Cor Deo, a full-time mentored study and ministry training programme lasting five months involving  studying together during the week, then participating in ministry together during the weekends.  For further information about Cor Deo, either to pray for the ministry, or to find out more about participating, the Cor Deo website is www.cordeo.org.uk.

A Psalm 119 Moment

And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed. ~ Joshua 1:8 (The Message)

I think it’s rather ironic that Psalm 119 has become associated with the weariness some people have with Bible reading.  Its 176 verses are simply too much for some people, and yet, it is a Psalm that is all about having a love of God’s word.

In David’s time, the “scriptures” would refer primarily to the books of the law.  Many people reading this feel about Leviticus the way they feel about Psalm 119; it epitomizes something that seems to just go on and on and on.

And yet, these books, Leviticus included, are what David says he loves.  Every single verse of the Psalm talks about his love of God’s laws, statutes, commandments.

Is David the kind of guy who gets excited reading the complete federal tax codes?   Does he enjoy studying the Motor Vehicle Act?   Would he actually study the instruction manual that come with most consumer electronics?

I don’t think so.  But I think he really sees the character of God expressed in the laws he gave.  And he believes that they were written for his good.

I say all that to tell a story.

This week we were in a Goodwill donation processing center, a place, we are told, where merchandise is returned from various stores for final sale prior to being destroyed.  These are the shoes no one wanted, the t-shirts that didn’t sell, and the books that were picked over.

Yes, books.  And among those books were three New Testaments.

Now you need to know four things about me:

• We’re not loaded with money; the 50-cents a copy they were asking for these was a bit of a stretch, especially after my wife had already selected some other items.
• Our house is already full of books; we didn’t need three more; there truly is no place to put them.
• I didn’t have anyone in mind who I was going to give them to.
• I sell Bibles for a living.  I have a vested interested in selling new books, not used books.

But I bought them.

They were in reasonable condition, and I couldn’t handle the idea of them being pulped for recycling into other books.

I could spiritualize this and say that it was because I have ‘such a great love for God’s word.’  I could say, ‘The Bible is so precious to me, I couldn’t bear to see one thrown out.’   I won’t do that here.   It was simply my WWDD — What Would David Do? — moment.

My Psalm 119 moment.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your love of scripture, your love for God’s word?

Jerry Bridges on Holiness

The first speaking engagement I ever had, I thought they were booking me as a musician.  “No, we want you to speak, not sing;” said the guy on the other end of the phone.  “It’s a winter weekend retreat.  We’re doing a book study on Flirting With The World by John White and you’ll be speaking four times for an hour each time.”

Four hours?

Somewhere along the line, I picked up a copy of The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges and actually referred to both books equally that weekend.  I’ll never forget the line, “We never see sin aright as we see it as against God.”  So often we sin and think we failed ourselves; like going off a diet or something.  We forget that we sin against God.  Not our friends, family or church family.

I keep the devotional book by Jerry Bridges, Holiness – Day by Day: Transformation Thoughts for your Spiritual Journey next to the computer for Christianity 201 writing emergencies (!) but haven’t needed it so far.  But today I wondered what writing by Bridges might be available online and found this excellent quotation site.  Here are some highlights in the category of holiness — plus a few others — this represents about one page of 17 pages available by him.

• We abuse grace when, after sinning, we dwell on the compassion and mercy of God to the exclusion of His holiness and hatred of sin.
• Jesus said, “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). We must honestly face the question, “Am I willing to give up a certain practice or habit that is keeping me from holiness?” It is at this point of commitment that most of us fail. We prefer to dally with sin, to try to play with it a little without getting too deeply involved.
• As we grow in holiness, we grow in hatred of sin; and God, being infinitely holy, has an infinite hatred of sin.
• As used in Scripture, holiness describes both the majesty of God and the purity and moral perfection of His nature. Holiness is one of His attributes; that is, holiness is an essential part of the nature of God. His holiness is as necessary as His existence, or as necessary, for example, as His wisdom or omniscience. Just as He cannot but know what is right, so He cannot but do what is right.
• We need to call sin what the Bible calls it and not soften it with modern expressions borrowed from our culture.
• What is holiness? The best practical definition that I have heard is simply “without sin.” That is the statement that was made of the Lord Jesus’ life on earth (Hebrews 4:15), and that should be the goal of every person who desires to be godly. Granted, we will never reach that goal in this life; nevertheless it is to be our supreme objective and the object of our most earnest efforts and prayers.
• I believe a word that forcefully captures the essence of Jesus’ work of propitiation is the word exhausted. Jesus exhausted the wrath of God. It was not merely deflected and prevented from reaching us; it was exhausted. Jesus bore the full, unmitigated brunt of it. God’s wrath against sin was unleashed in all its fury on His beloved Son. He held nothing back.

Oh, as for the four-hour speaking gig, as a group we had a number of late night discussions as people chose the warmth of the large fireplace at Muskoka Woods Sports Resort over the raging blizzard outside, and added an extra session on the Saturday afternoon. In total, I believe I spoke or led discussions for eleven hours!

Uh, Jesus, Can We Have a Word?

I always get something fresh from Perry Noble’s blog.  If I thought, or statistics showed, that most readers actually click the links, I would simply do this that way; but history shows us that’s not the case.   And I don’t want you to miss this.
What If The Religious Leaders Had Made A “Stop Doing” List For Jesus

Here are five things they MAY have asked Him to stop doing…

“Dear Jesus, we need you to stop doing the following things…

# 1 – You are really going to need to STOP healing on the Sabbath.  You see, we’ve worked really hard creating a religious system that works for us…and even though people ARE being healed (we cannot deny that) we just do not approve of the day you are doing it.  Sure, it’s miraculous…but the only miracles we are going to give approval of are the ones that take place in our system.  And please understand…not adhering to our request in this matter could prove to be detrimental to your ministry. (Matthew 12:1-14)

# 2 – Your methods of healing at times are quite reprehensible.  The fact that you spit on the ground…and just kept spitting SO MUCH that you were able to make mud…and then placed that mud on the eyes of a blind person is flat out unacceptable.  (John 9:1-11)  The fact that he gained his sight is beside the point…the way you did it is unacceptable.  AND the people you heal are bragging about what you did in their lives…we simply cannot have that and if you don’t shut them up then we will (see John 12:9-11).  It’s NOT about results…it’s about our system!

# 3 – Your character associations have gone way too far.  It has been reported that you have spoken to a Samaritan woman (John 4) and that you have actually called a tax collector to be among your inner circle (Matthew 9:9-13).  In fact, as we observe your most dedicated followers we are deeply concerned that you don’t seem to have any religious professional among those closest to you.  We believe this is a grave mistake; after all, what in the world would You EVER believe you could accomplish through those unschooled, ordinary men?  (Acts 4:13)

# 4 – We do not approve of your teaching methods.  Seriously…anytime someone asks you a question you always break into a story!  Is that really necessary?  Because of this type of behavior we can only conclude that you simply want to entertain people.  AND…the little trick you did with the loaves and fish simply prove to us that all you are interested in doing is drawing a crowd. Please cease from this type of activity and just try to engage people with “deep” theological that will equip you listeners to feel morally and intellectually superior to those who do not know as much as them.  When you tell your stories you do nothing more than twist the Scriptures to make them say whatever you want…you should know better!

# 5 – Your language is quite offensive..and we’re going to ask you to tone it down.  Seriously Jesus, you calling us all “sons of hell” was a little over the top (see Matthew 23:15)…AND the fact that you called us a bunch of snakes, actually comparing us to the devil (Matthew 23:33) shows us that you seem to lack compassion.  Finally, I don’t think a godly man would EVER say of us that we were liars and that we are the result of our mother having sex with the devil (John 8:40-44).  Tone it down Jesus, you are highly offensive.  AND seriously…was the thing with the whip necessary…you seem to have anger management issues (John 2:13-17).  A godly man simply would not act like this.”

by Perry Noble.

Jesus teaching and ministry style was not what his contemporaries expected.  I love the quotation from Walter Wink, “If Jesus had not lived, we never would have been able to invent him.”

You Are My God, You Are My Fortress

Brian Doerksen wanted to write a song that described another aspect of God’s character and would, at the same time, be a song that men could identify with and sing.  On the Today DVD (and CD) it’s preceded by a men’s chorus singing “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”  This song, in turn, is called “Fortress 144.”

Usually, I insert the video first and the lyrics underneath, but consider the lyrics first on this one:

You are my God You are my fortress
My loving God my refuge and shield
You are my God You are my stronghold
Delivering me from the father of lies

Part Your heavens and come down
Touch the mountains so they burn with fire
Send forth lightning from on high
Scatter all who would oppose Your light

All praise to You my rock
Who trains my hands for war
All praise to You my rock
Who trains my hands for war

Focus on Jesus

I have frequented Texas pastor Trey Morgan’s blog even before I started my own.   This appeared first on his blog last week as Eight Things That Amaze Me About Jesus.

1. He Cared About People. We need more people like this. Jesus put others needs before his own. He didn’t just feel sorry for people, he actually served others, loved them and guided them into a relationship with his Father. He didn’t look for “deserving” people to care for (there were none) … but “undeserving.” He healed, fed and touched those in need (Mark 10:45). He taught us what real ministry is: Service. There was no class distinction for Jesus. He cared for the fishermen, tax collectors, the adulterer and the 5 time divorcee. He cared about people.
2. Jesus Was A Man of Action. His life would have been one big action movie. There was nothing boring about his life. He spent his time here not just telling people how to live, but showing (action) people how to live (John 14:9). He calls you and I to the same life of adventure, and anybody who says being a follower of Jesus is boring … doesn’t have a clue what they’re talking about.
3. Jesus was a Communicator. There seems to be two kinds of teachers in this world … communicators and intellectuals. Communicators take the difficult and make it simple. Intellectuals take the simple and make it difficult. Unfortunately, there are far too many intellectuals trying to communicate the Gospel today. Jesus was simply a communicator. Jesus didn’t preach many “expository” sermons and nor did he quote lots of scripture, however, the overwhelming majority of the time he told stories and painted pictures. He taught with a towel, a bird, a flower, a shepherd, a son, a coin, a flower, a child, a plank and other stories to make his point. He knew how to communicate.
4. Jesus Had Something To Say. After he preached the sermon on the mount, the people were amazed by his teaching because he taught with authority (Matthew 7:28-29). Like the old E.F. Hutton commercial, when Jesus talked, people listened. Jesus taught on significant things that people needed to know. Things like eternity, death, how to treat one another, how to forgive and how to enter the Kingdom of God. He didn’t spend much time preaching about the Hittites, Perizzites or Jebusites.
5. Jesus Offended the Religious People & Hung Out With Sinners. The only people who Jesus looked down on were the “religious” people who looked down on others. Jesus didn’t give a rip what the religious people thought of him. Jesus called them snakes, vipers and white washed tombs (Matthew 23:25-36). Instead, Jesus hung out with sinners. The people Jesus reached out to were the “sinners”, the prostitutes, the fishermen, the adulterer, the divorcee and the tax collectors (Luke 19:10, Matthew 9:12). Jesus hung out with the wrong type of people. He hung out with them so much that he was even accused of being a drunkard and a glutton.
6. Jesus Came as a Common Man. It amazes me that Jesus, the Son of God, came not as a prince born in a fancy clean castle, but instead as a common man born in a barn. He worked, sweated, hurt, became angry, was happy, was sad, was tempted and experienced death. All the same things I experience day to day. He knows what it’s like to be a common person and relates to my struggles (Hebrews 2:18).
7. Jesus Offered What No One Else Could. Sales people will promise you the sky, but only Jesus can give you peace and salvation (John 14:27, John 14:6). No one can give you what Jesus can.
8. Jesus … (You Fill in # 8 With One You Like!)

~Trey Morgan