On Passing Curses to the Next Generation

Start digging deep into scripture with friends, and sooner or later, someone is going to bring up the subject of “generational curses.” Andrew Gabriel is a professor at Horizon College, a school of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada which is the Canadian equivalent of the Assemblies of God denomination. This appeared at the blog Pentecostal Post under the title, Do Generational Curses Exist?

We were discussing the doctrine of sin in a class I was teaching, and the question came: “What do you think of generational curses?”

This depends on what you mean by a generational curse. If a person means that a person can be socialized to learn sinful habits from parental influence, then the idea makes good sense (although such an idea doesn’t require the label of “generational curse”). However, it seems when people use the phrase “generational curse,” they generally have in mind the idea that a person is experiencing “spiritual bondage” that involves demonic influence as a result of sin in previous generations.

Where does this idea come from? The main biblical text is:

Exodus 20:5-6 ~ You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

There are many problems with trying to get the “generational curse” theory out of this text. First, while it affirms punishment for numerous generations, it also affirms God’s love for those who obey him. So what happens if the second generation obeys God? Are they still cursed? To follow the logic behind the “generational curse” theory, then the second generation, and thousands more, would be loved by God regardless of their response to him. Rather than teaching a logic of generational cursing, this text seems to be contrasting the expansive love of God (to a thousand!) versus the punishment of God (to just a few). Consider also Exodus 34:6-7.

The even bigger problem with concluding that this text teaches “generational curses” is that the word “curse” doesn’t occur in the text. Rather, it speaks of punishment, and the punishment doesn’t involve demonic influence (that could hypothetically be denounced, as the generational curse proponents teach); the punishment comes from God.

Of course, there are other biblical texts that might point to the idea of generational curses. Consider, for example,

Deuteronomy 11:26-28~ See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse; the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

However, unlike the text from Exodus above, there is here no sense of generational continuation from the curse. Furthermore, numerous biblical texts (even in the Old Testament) make it clear that “The child will not share the guilt of the parent” (Ezekiel 18:20).

Just to be clear, I am not denying that demons have real influences in this world. I am, however, denying that the Bible teaches that generational curses exist. More importantly, I would certainly affirm that God can (and does) set people free from all kinds of nasty habits or oppressive thinking. One thing we can proclaim with certainty, is that whatever curse there was for not obeying the law in the Old Testament, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law” (Galatians 3:13).

If you are interested in reading further about this idea, this is a good article.

Success of Significance?

I’ve always said I would rather be effective than be successful. But I’ve never heard anyone else express this sentiment until I came across Counting My Blessings, the blog of Deb Wolf, where this appeared just a few days ago as Would You Rather Be Successful or Significant?

Successful is defined as – having attained wealth, position, honors, or the like.

Significant is defined as – important or of consequence.

So, would you rather be successful or significant? 

This question came to mind as I read Ecclesiastes 4:4 -

Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.

I used to think the Book of Ecclesiastes was majorly depressing. Solomon stating again and again that, “it’s all meaningless – like chasing the wind.”

But then I read the end of the book, Ecclesiastes 12:13 -

 After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God, and obey His commands, because this is all that we were created for.

Accomplishing that for which we were created is success. Certainly not the world’s definition of success, not even the dictionary’s definition but I believe the best definition.

What are God’s commands? When Jesus was asked to name the most important commandments He replied:

 ”You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:27-29

Loving God. Loving others. Success and Significance. 

Not what is normally thought of as success or significance, but for those of who follow Christ the best definition of both.

That’s what I’m thinking about. What do you think?

~Deb Wolf

C201 Post # 700

A man died and went to heaven and on arrival asked if it was true that there are mansions with many rooms with for all.  An angel assured him that this was true and offered to guide him to where one had been prepared just for him.

They walked down a street filled with the finest mansions that would be the envy of the highest priced neighborhoods in the western world on earth.

“Is my house here?” the man asked.

“Just a little further;” said the angel.

They then entered a section of housing which would be compared to a North American upper middle class community.

“It’s here, then?” the man asked.

“Just a little further;” said the angel.

They then moved on to a group of bungalows that were not initially impressive, but, this being heaven after all, were no doubt  adequate.

“So here we are;” said the man.

“No, just a little further;” said the angel.

Then the two of them ended up in an area where the houses — more like cabins — were not only much smaller, but there were only a couple of rooms and some elements of the walls, floors and ceilings were missing.

Pointing to a nearby dwelling, the angel said, “That one is your house.”

“There is no way,” said the man, “That I can live in something like that.”

“I’m very sorry;” replied the angel; “But we did the best we could with the materials you sent up.”

This apocryphal sermon illustration is usually told in reference to Matthew 6: 19-20 which reads:

¹⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ^NLT

But what constitutes treasure?

As I consider 700 posts here at Christianity 201, I look back to when I started this, wanting to produce something of substance that would cause people to dig a little deeper or consider something they might not have thought of before.

I’m a person who can speak with spiritual confidence and authority to an individual or group one minute; and then be struck by a feeling of total inadequacy the next; a form of spiritual intimidation, or spiritual inferiority complex.  Why is this?  I think much of it has to do with feeling at the end of the day that I simply haven’t accomplished enough for the Kingdom of God. The sun sets or the computer is turned off or it’s time for bed and I ask myself, what did I really do today that was of lasting value of significance?

It’s not that I wasn’t busy doing Kingdom work, it’s just that I fear I wasn’t busy doing the right things.  I feel that by not letting my talents be used to the maximum, I have missed the mark (the same idiom by which the word sin is defined in Greek) of God’s highest calling. You could say that I not only have ‘performance-based religion’ issues, but I’m additionally burdened with combining it with a Type A personality when it comes to what I would like to see happen.

So… I need to be reminded that God still loves me even I didn’t do all the the things or type of things that I thought God was expecting of me.

However, I can’t just toss out the consideration of what it means to give my best to God each day. I have to have certain goals or ideals or standards of attainment.   The verses that I think match up best with the heaven story above are these from I Cor. 3 –

¹² Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³ But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. ¹⁴ If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.  ^NLT

Some of you know these verses from the KJ text as referring to: “Gold, silver and precious stones;” contrasted with “wood, hay and stubble.”

In the Christian blogosphere, a lot of what is written — including what I myself post at Thinking Out Loud — is wood, hay and stubble.  I started Christianity 201 because I wanted something that would be of substance, something made of gold, silver and precious stones.

So while Christianity is not performance-based, if we’re going to launch out into any endeavor at all (in response to what Christ has done for us) we should aim for that thing to be of the highest quality, the finest purity, the greatest depth and the most lasting significance. We can discuss other things, and comment on the issues of the day in religion, politics, social justice, the environment, church life, parenting, education, marriage, missions, theology, or even the weather; but at the end of the day, we need to bring something best to the table; something that not only touches readers, but touches the heart of God Himself.

That’s living out our Christ-following at the next level.

That’s Christianity 201.

When the music fades
All is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that’s of worth
That will bless your heart

I’ll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You’re looking into my heart…

Where Changing the Culture Begins

I’m always happy when people take advantage of our offer of direct submissions, but it helps if I actually check that e-mail inbox. This was submitted a few days ago by Jarod Hinton who lives in Georgia and blogs at Sermonettes, where this appeared (for the second time!) under the title Reformation’s First Step.

Our country is in sad shape. Our culture, also, is just this side of Gomorrah. Maybe a taste of what we’re up against is that in a recent research survey they discovered that 57 percent of “evangelical Christians” believe their faith is not the only way to eternal life! This goes back to my previous post a little bit. Hypocrites in the church. But beyond that, my own compromise and hypocrisy. Basically we need a reformation in our country. (And our Canadian neighbors also.) I have been praying for a mighty movement of God’s Spirit for a long time. Our society is doomed if we do not repent and seek the Lord again. I say that with all seriousness and sincerity. I’m not a doom-and-gloom-er, but we are in a war for the future of our children, and our nation.

But we will not see a great movement of God upon our country until the body of Christ repents of its own sins and failure to behave as Christ would behave. We need a reformation (or revival, whatever you want to call it) in the Church before we will see it in our country. That is in part why I am a minister seeking to help God’s people live in freedom and power.

But we will not see a great movement of God in the Church until there is a stirring of God’s Spirit in families. The family is the backbone of the Church. That is to say, the family structure is vitally important for the successful carrying out of the Great Commission. Also, the best discipleship happens in the home. A powerful revival in God’s body will come in the form of families that are changed and unified and powerful, in God’s Spirit.

I realized last night something significant I can do to speed along the reformation of our culture. In fact, I realized what the very first step, the beginning, of this reformation will be. If we will not have reformation until the church repents and is revived, and we will not have revival until the family is surrendered to God’s control, and I am the leader of my family, then I can begin in my own life to prepare the way of the Lord. “Prepare ye the ways of the Lord. Make his paths straight.“

The first step to reformation is in ME!

I must begin now to seek the Lord and earnestly pursue a life of holiness and a pure walk with Christ. How does that happen? It happens through the Word of God. That is the instrument God will use to shape me into the image of my Savior. Then my living will be what it ought to be. (Or at least, it will begin moving in that direction.) God cleanses and directs me through his Word. That is the key to spiritual growth.

So I need to quit bemoaning the sins of society so much — not that I will stop completely — and start working on the compromise and selfishness in my own life. I need to be a man and get up early enough in the morning, regardless of circumstances, and spend time with Christ in prayer and His Word. Then Christ will begin, more and more, to live my life for me. That is the goal. To be filled and controlled by the Spirit.

So I am going to start taking the first step of reformation. I hope you will join me.

~Jarod Hinton

Got an idea for a Bible study or devotional piece that would fit here?  Click submissions.

There is a River

The most interesting part of this blog is the part you never get to see: The discovery of all the wonderful things God is doing in the lives of unique individuals as reflected in the Christian blogosphere. Today’s post is part of a much longer story that will be especially of interest to women, and because the blog is relatively new, you’re encouraged to visit Faith Rises and go back to the very first post in January of this year, and follow Faith’s continuing story. You can probably read the whole narrative (to date) in less than 30 minutes.

After combing through, I decided to stay with the most current blog post — the one that led me to Faith Rises initially — that will be most meaningful to those of you for whom tears of been part of your experience this week.  The original title was Two Rivers.

Once, when I was invited to speak at a Women’s Conference to share my story, I opened by saying that I had cried a “river of tears”… That may not sound very encouraging, to some people, but I knew that there were  women present who could relate, because they too had experienced the pain and disappointments that lead to crying lots of tears. I knew, because I had been there…

Sometimes people, in an effort to be comforting,  may say,” I know how you feel”… but it’s much more of a comfort when you know that someone has actually experienced circumstances similar to your own. As women, we feel things so deeply, and “crying a river of tears” was the best way that I could describe the heartfelt sadness that accompanied me through this difficult time in my life. I knew that I was not the only one to feel this way.

Many mornings,when I was having problems with my health, and praying for a miracle, my husband would wake to hear me quietly crying, with my head sunk in my pillow. He would try to comfort me, but after a while, I think he just wanted me to let go of what he considered to be an “obsession” with wanting to have a baby. But I was not obsessed, and I would not let go.

In spite of all my tears, I knew in my heart, that there was another river…

Psalm 46 says that,

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble… There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,…God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early… Be still and know that I am God…”

Sometimes we need to have a good cry, and that’s OK,… but we mustn’t cry as if there’s no hope… There is true comfort in knowing that God sees our tears, and will answer our prayers. Just remember,

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning!”

Again, at risk of repeating myself, I strongly encourage you to read Faith’s story.  This link should take you to the oldest January ’12 posts where you can begin.

Lying to Ourselves

In the process of verifying one of the E. Stanley Jones quotes that appeared here yesterday, I came across a Tumblr blog by sabrinacate, but I couldn’t actually locate the proper link for attribution. (If anyone can locate this exact article, I’ll add the link.)  This post was too good not to include here…

Lies We Tell Ourselves About God

Why lie to ourselves.

—God does not know or see what I’m doing:

• Psalm 73:11 “They say, ‘How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?’”
• God always knows. Why do we tell ourselves He doesn’t. Even if we may not tell ourselves that, we act like we believe that sometimes.

—God sees things the way I do:

• I Samuel 16:7 “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.’”
• Just because we like something or do something does not mean that God approves of it.

—God is appeased by my giving

• I Samuel 15 “Saul was commanded by God to destroy the Amalekites and to leave nothing left. Saul disobeyed God. He spared Agag and the best of the sheep, oxen, fatlings, lambs, and all that was good.”
• It’s not ok to not do things the way God says. We need to live in a way that honors Him during the week, not just when we are at church.
• He doesn’t need you singing praises to Him, if you wont live by Him!

—God doesn’t believe in me

• Job 4:18 “He puts not trust even in His servants’ And against His angels He charges error”
• God believed in Job’s faith. He can certainly believe in ours as well. God does everything with us in mind. He believes we can choose holiness.
• Having a place prepared in Heaven, already for us, shows how much God believes in us. He wants us and believes that we can be righteous.

Our Common Lies

—God only helps those who help themselves

• 8 out of 10 people believe this is found in the Bible.
• We value work, as humans, and we assume that God thinks like us, which He doesn’t.
• If this statement were so, we would not be Christians. It says we are helpless and hopeless in the Bible.
• Paul said there is not one who is righteous.
• God makes up the whole gap with Jesus’ sacrifice.
• Everyday our attitude should be “Thank you, Lord, for your gift.”
• Luke 18 “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector”
• God helps those who know they need help, like the tax collector in the parable.

—God’s love much be earned

• This idea is not from God.
• Galatians 3
• There’s nothing you can do to get God to love you more or less. It also never says in the Bible why God chose to love the Israelites or the apostles or us. So why would we think there had to be something they did to deserve it?

—God understands that’s just the way I am. After all, He made me this way.

• “Oh, I know I shouldn’t do that, but …”
• God did not make you to sin!!
• God understands that’s just they way I am, but that’s why He sent His son Jesus! SO THAT WE CAN CHANGE!
• This is just our way of making excuses and justifying the things we do.

We create distortions of reality when we lie to ourselves.

• If we tell ourself that someone hates us, we’ll relate that way to them.
• If we do this with God, that always brings pain and suffering.

“When we say we begin with God, we begin with our idea of God, and our idea of God is not God. Instead, we ought to begin with God’s idea of God, and God’s idea of God is Christ” -E. Stanley Jones

E. Stanley Jones Quotes

Don’t know him?  Let’s start at Wikipedia:

Eli Stanley Jones (1884–1973) was a 20th century Methodist Christian missionary and theologian. He is remembered chiefly for his interreligious lectures to the educated classes in India, thousands of which were held across the Indian subcontinent during the first decades of the 20th century. According to his and other contemporary reports, his friendship for the cause of Indian self-determination allowed him to become friends with leaders of the up-and-coming Indian National Congress party. He spent much time with Mahatma Gandhi, and the Nehru family. Gandhi challenged Jones and, through Jones’ writing, the thousands of Western missionaries working there during the last decades of the British Raj, to include greater respect for the mindset and strengths of the Indian character in their work.

This effort to contextualize Christianity for India was the subject of his seminal work, The Christ of the Indian Road, which sold more than 1 million copies worldwide after its publication in 1925.

He is sometimes considered the “Billy Graham of India”.

…continue reading the Wikipedia entry here…

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“When we say we begin with God, we begin with our idea of God, and our idea of God is not God. Instead, we ought to begin with God’s idea of God, and God’s idea of God is Christ”

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“God, to redeem us at the deepest portion of our nature – the urge to love and be loved – must reveal His nature in an incredible and impossible way. He must reveal it at a cross.”

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“We are personalities in the making, limited, and grappling with things too high for us. Obviously we, at very best, will make many mistakes, but these mistakes need not be sins.”

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“Some have said that the power of a Redeemer would depend upon two things: first, upon the richness of the self that was given; and second, upon the depths of the giving. Friend and foe alike are agreed on the question of the character of Jesus Christ.”

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“At the cross God wrapped his heart in flesh and blood and let it be nailed to the cross for our redemption.”

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“A Rattlesnake, if Cornered will become so angry it will bite itself. That is exactly what the harboring of hate and resentment against others is – a biting of oneself. We think we are harming others in holding these spites and hates, but the deeper harm is to ourselves.”

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“If the Holy Spirit can take over the subconscious with our consent and cooperation, then we have almighty Power working at the basis of our lives, then we can do anything we ought to do, go anywhere we ought to go, and be anything we ought to be.”

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“Many live in dread of what is coming. Why should we? The unknown puts adventure into life. … The unexpected around the corner gives a sense of anticipation and surprise. Thank God for the unknown future.”

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“The opponent strikes you on your cheek, and you strike him on the heart by your amazing spiritual audacity in turning the other cheek. You wrest the offensive from him by refusing to take his weapons, by keeping your own, and by striking him in his conscience from a higher level. He hits you physically, and you hit him spiritually.”

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Sources: Search Quotes,  Good Reads, Inspirational Stories, Finest Quotes, Quote Summit.

Living the Red Letters

For the past few nights our family has been working its way through The Red Letters a 6-part DVD series produced by World Vision Canada, in preparation for my reviewing it at Thinking Out Loud. The video features outspoken author and speaker Tony Campolo being interviewed by Colin McCartney, director of Urban Promise in Toronto, and author of Red Letter Revolution. If you know Tony, and you noted the title of Colin’s book, the combination of Campolo and McCartney on the subject of Jesus’ teachings is going to produce a thought-provoking video curriculum.

But last night I decided to venture into some of the recommended websites and discovered Colin McCartney’s blog at RedLetterInfo.com including this post from a few days ago:

Last night I had the privilege to worship with a group of young believers at a house church in Anaheim, California. It was a refreshing time for me being with these vibrant Christians and hearing them share about their journey with Jesus all within such a caring environment. The majority of the believers in this simple house church are from total unchurched backgrounds so to worship with them was a real treat. I was especially impressed by the fact that every one of them worshipped and shared from their hearts. The honesty and intimacy present within the living room of this house church was contagious. Grace permeated throughout the room and it was obvious to me that this was a safe place to come and meet Jesus no matter who you are or what you have done.

 Jesus said, “Where two or three are gathered in my name there I will be among you.”  (Matthew 18:20) Jesus was among us in that house last night. That’s one of the things I like the best about Jesus – he loves to be with his people and especially those who hurt. He does not restrict himself  to the mantras of professional clergy nor does he limit himself to only making appearances in sacred church buildings.  He is not into religious posturing or rituals. No, he is present in the simplicity of the poor (“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:40) and the gathering of two or three or more of us meeting together in a living room of a house in Anaheim, California.

 While we worshipped there was no “proper” worship protocol that is present in so many of our church services today. There was no evident “order of service”, no special musical arrangements with guest singers and there was no passing of the gold coloured offering plates for our tithes and offerings (though we did pass a baseball cap around that was a little sweaty and dirty as it came from the head of one of the folks attending the house church). Needless to say what happened last night was raw, rootsy and real. People shared how their week had went and I was amazed how many of these people talked about the times they shared their faith and cared for others especially the poor. People spoke about loved ones who were now homeless. Youth asked for prayer for their freinds who are cutting themselves with razors. Best of all were the groanings that rose from the mouths of everyone in that room when they prayed for God’s intercession in their lives and in the lives of those they know.  When it came time for me to share the Word I had a captive audience hungry, willing and thirsting to learn from the Scriptures. Now that is a church!

 I loved last night because this is what I always dream and pray about – to see a movement of Christians in love with Jesus, embodying his “red letters” in word and deed, just simply living out their faith. This sounds like the New Testament church to me and it is to this form of missional movement that I have committed myself to.  I seek to work with churches who are committed to activate their people to this kind of “red letter” missional lifestyle where they challenge their people to “go”!  I also dream of church plants being birthed naturally and organically in homes, community centers, prisons, bars and wherever else “Red Letter” Christians do mission. It’s that simple yet it is so rare!  All it takes for this to happen is for us to go! So, what is holding us back? 

Since Colin ended with a question, here again is the link where you can post your response.

Lent Begins

Growing up in an Evangelical environment, I had little consciousness of the liturgical calendar beyond Christmas and Easter. There was also Thanksgiving, but then, how seriously could that be taken when it was observed more than six weeks apart in Canada and the United States?

To be Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or Mainline Protestant however is to be aware of the ever changing liturgical season; it is more than the passing of time, rather, each cycle is complete retelling of the New Testament gospel story. I’ve come to believe that Evangelicals are somewhat shortchanged in this area, though non-Evangelicals are also missing out on other ministry and worship opportunities because they are slave to the calendar. Balance is found somewhere in the middle.

Part of the reason both sides miss out is due to a lack of understanding of how things came to be. With lent — which begins this year as of tomorrow morning with Ash Wednesday — while I’ll admit that Wikipedia is not always the ideal source for theological information, this article is very comprehensive.

Lent (Latin: Quadragesima, “fortieth”^[1]) is the Christian observance of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday.

The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer—through prayer, penance, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial. Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday, which then culminates in the celebration on Easter Sunday of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence. The Stations of the Cross, a devotional commemoration of Christ’s carrying the Cross and of his execution, are often observed. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches bare their altars of candles, flowers, and other devotional offerings, while crucifixes, religious statues, and other elaborate religious paraphernalia are often veiled in violet fabrics in observance of this event. In certain pious Catholic countries, grand processions and cultural customs are observed, and the faithful attempt to visit seven churches during Holy Week in honor of Jesus Christ heading to Mount Calvary.

According to the Synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.^[2][3] Thus, Lent is described as being forty days long, though different denominations calculate the forty days differently. In many of the Christian churches, Lent is regarded as being forty days long, but the Sundays between Shrove Tuesday and Easter Sunday are not typically regarded as being part of Lent; thus, the date of Shrove Tuesday will typically be slightly more than forty days before Easter Sunday.

This event, along with its pious customs are observed by Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Anglicans and some Baptists.^[4][4][5][5] Lent is increasingly being observed by other denominations as well, even such groups that have historically ignored Lent, such as some Baptists and Mennonites^[6]

One of the things I don’t see so much in literature is a comparison between the season of Advent and the time of Lent. While Advent anticipates, foreshadows and prefigures the coming of the Messiah, Lent anticipates, foreshadows and prefigures Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection.

Both represent a long run-up to an event that we already know is to take place. There is a tension of wondering what happens next, even though we know the story. That tension is partly due to looking to see what happens next inside us. The anticipating of Christ’s coming is preparing our hearts to welcome Him and recognize Him as Divine. The anticipating of Christ’s suffering and death is preparing our hearts to receive what He is, in the narrative, about to do for us and has in fact already done. It is placing ourselves under the covering of His atoning sacrifice.

For those of Evangelical background like myself, the Wikipedia article includes significant dates falling within the next 40 days:

• Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity
• Clean Monday (or “Ash Monday”) is the first day in Eastern Orthodox Christianity
• The fourth Lenten Sunday, which marks the halfway point between Ash Wednesday and Easter, is sometimes referred to as Laetare Sunday, particularly by Roman Catholics, and Mothering Sunday, which has become synonymous with Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom. However, its origin is a sixteenth century celebration of the Mother Church. On Laetare Sunday, the priest has the option of wearing vestments of rose (pink) instead of violet.
• The fifth Lenten Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday (however, that term is also applied to Palm Sunday) marks the beginning of Passiontide
• The sixth Lenten Sunday, commonly called Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week, the final week of Lent immediately preceding Easter
• Wednesday of Holy Week is known as Spy Wednesday to commemorate the days on which Judas spied on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane before betraying him
• Thursday is known as Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday, and is a day Christians commemorate the Last Supper shared by Christ with his disciples
• Good Friday follows the next day, on which Christians remember Jesus’ crucifixion and burial

I encourage you to read the whole article. The more Evangelical your background — especially if you are very Charismatic or Pentecostal, or very much part of a seeker-sensitive church — this will all seem rather foreign. But these traditions and forms had their origins in a church that was more vibrant than its descendant denominations today, and we do well not to toss out too much Church history.

Open Source Christianity

Did God give me what I’m writing right now or am I making it up on my own strength?

That’s a question it’s fair to ask in all areas of Christian endeavor.  Am I doing this ‘on my own’ or under God’s power? What about the idea that ‘all things come from God?’ Do I really ‘own’ the concepts and insights shown here.

As we closed in on having 700 posts here last week, for the first time we had a writer who objected to having his content used here. While blog etiquette dictates that you link back to writers’ original pages, statistics bear out the idea that people read the teaser paragraph but don’t click to continue reading. So this blog was created as a showcase — and a bit of a potpourri — of devotional and Bible study writing; much of it from obscure blogs that nobody has heard of, whose writers are thrilled to have an additional audience for their thoughts.

For several months, a music and book distributor for whom I was I was doing contract work assigned me to help out in royalty administration and distribution. I appreciate that those who have given themselves full-time to writing for major publishers derive their income from sales. I would never dream of photocopying an author’s work and I have strong views about churches which project song lyrics on a screen at weekend services for which they haven’t paid the appropriate license fees.

But a blog? Seriously?

When the attribution is clear, and the readers are given two separate opportunities — and sometimes additional inducements — to click to the original source page, I feel there is a legitimization of one-time use; though a few writers have been featured here on two or three different occasions.

(Cartoonists however, seem to be another subject entirely. Despite having the largest treasure trove of Christian cartoons online, one denominational website had so many copyright warnings we decided they could just keep their comics to themselves, and stopped using them at Thinking out Loud.)

The article in question had no copyright indicia, and no page dealing with reprints and permissions.

I would like to think that when God gives us an idea, he gives it to us not only to share, but to see disseminated as widely as possible.  Someone once said,

There is no limit on what can be done for God as long as it doesn’t matter who is getting the earthly credit.

Attribution’s greatest value is that the people can go back to the same source for more insights.  If I enjoy what “X” has to say today on this topic, then I may want to read what “X” has to say tomorrow about some other subject.  In fact, I’ve had a handful of off-the-blog comments from people who are now regular readers of writers they heard about here at C201 and at Thinking out Loud.

In giving instructions to his disciples, Jesus said,

“And as you go,  preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven  is at hand.’ “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.  (Matt 10:7-8 NASB)

I’ve had content used (and misused) on other blogs, and at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter much. What does matter is how I respond to the “borrowings” at other websites. Do I say, “It’s all good;” or do I fight for increasing my personal empire here at this website?

The writer in question also accused me of changing his content. I could see how that would be serious. But in fact, I had removed links to an online bookseller which left him, in one sentence, referring to “this book” with no remaining hint as to what that book might be; so I took the time to insert the title where the words “this book” had been.

I think it was with the objection to that change that the author really betrayed their true motives. Referrer fees from online sales can be fairly significant for a blogger at the end of the month; and I believe it can really cloud a writer’s motives.

I simply won’t do that here. I’m not trying to sell you anything. I’m not making money from this, and in fact I don’t draw a salary from my “day job,” so I have a different attitude toward the need to see everything I do as a line on a profit-and-loss balance sheet.

I wonder what the early church would think of what we’ve come to; a world where royalty administrators and agents hash out mechanical royalties and performance royalties and you buy a license in order to share the words to the latest worship songs. I wonder if the Apostle Paul were alive today if he would put a little copyright symbol at the end of each epistle? Would Matthew be expecting dividends from the sales of the Visual Bible DVD that bears his name?

Freely we have received. Freely we give.

All that we have and are is a gift from God.

And we should keep it open source.

~Paul Wilkinson

• Ironically, trying to find a nice stylized copyright symbol to illustrate this article was a challenge since nearly half of them were, in fact, copyrighted. This one is from an article that also looks at this issue from a balanced Christian perspective, the author reminding us that we are “blessed to be a blessing.”

Church Year in Review

The church annual business meeting is a both longstanding tradition, and requirement

Over the next few weeks, several churches in my part of the world are holding their annual meeting.  Though required by law, it’s also a good opportunity for churches to step back and see the ‘big picture’ of church life, consider what God is doing through their efforts, thank God for His provision and look forward to the future.

The danger of course is to reduce meetings like this to statistics; to pie-chart and bar-graph church life to extremes. I doubt the first century church did this kind of record-keeping, and the Apostle Paul — who had a great mind when it came to understanding justification and atonement — was somewhat fuzzy on if or when he had baptized people.

Ohio pastor Paul Clark at the blog Vision Meets Reality doesn’t post very often, but back in December he linked to his church’s annual report which begins with 13 measures of a healthy church:

1. People are coming to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
2. Our missions program is expanding locally, nationally and globally.
3. People are making public professions of faith through baptism.
4. Attendance in worship services is increasing.
5. The worship experience is vibrant, enthusiastic and intergenerational.
6. There is broad participation in serving throughout the ministries.
7. New ministries are beginning as God imparts vision.
8. Guests are being connected to church life.
9. Covenant membership is increasing.
10. Our budgetary needs are being met.
11. Leaders are being developed and placed in ministry roles.
12. Scripture is central to our message.
13. Staff relationships are healthy.

That’s the kind of church I want to be a part of; though I think the eleven hour round trip would take its toll after a few Sundays. Although he pastors a larger church, I believe these goals are viable at some level for churches of all shapes and sizes.

What else does a healthy church look like?  Here’s how The Message translates two familiar passages:

^{Acts 2:38-39}Peter said, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.”

 ⁴⁰He went on in this vein for a long time, urging them over and over, “Get out while you can; get out of this sick and stupid culture!”

 ^41-42That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.

 ^43-45Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.

 ^46-47They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

…

^{Acts 4:31}While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s Word with fearless confidence.

 ^32-33The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them.

 ^34-35And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.

Sowing Seeds of Doubt

The enemy of our faith is described as a wildcat on the prowl; not out of hunger, but bent on destruction:

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. (I Peter 5:8-9a NLT)

So what do you think his number one tactic might be?  Here are some suggestions:

• consumerism, materialism
• corruption of moral standards through media, internet, etc.
• challenges to belief from other faith groups or intellectual skepticism

But while those are definitely important — and may be a factor in your own experience — we have to remember that the enemy is subtle and sometimes even works from within the body of Christ.

The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven — if there was anything to forgive — I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. (II Cor 2:9-11 NIV)

This passage paints a picture of a situation where an unforgiving spirit would give the enemy an opportunity.  The Message translates verse eleven as “…After all, we don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!”

So which of the enemy’s devices should be wise to? 

There’s one which is recurring with increasing frequency in the Christian blogosphere, as well as on the internet in general:

• modern scholarship calling the authorship of Bible books into question

Now, there will be people reading this who will say that this is nothing compared to the materialistic culture or the corruption of morals and values through new media.  However, I am very concerned that calling the authorship into question — and it doesn’t really matter at that point how the debate ends — is enough to plant the seeds of doubt in the minds and hearts of people less secure and established in their faith and their relationship with Jesus.

Furthermore, to adopt this tactic, you don’t need to dispute the doctrine or theology.  Just challenge the source and you’ve challenged the content.  Just question the historic understanding of a given book’s origins and you’ve started down the road of questioning the doctrine.

Did Isaiah write both halves of the book which bears his name?  What’s the connection between Moses and the first five books of the OT?  Did Paul write all the epistles that bear his name? 

Honestly, I don’t know.  Furthermore, I do, on one level have a great deal of respect for some of the Bible teachers who advance these discussions, but on another level I wish they would keep their speculation to themselves.

Matthew, Mark and Luke (or whoever wrote those books!!) all tell us a story of Jesus teaching:

^{Luke 171} Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. ² It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. ³a So watch yourselves.  (NIV)

It is very difficult when dealing with new believers — ‘little children’ in the faith — when they have suddenly been confronted with devotees of higher criticism and want to know why they have been ‘tricked’ into thinking that Mark wrote Mark and that John wrote John.

I’m not saying there isn’t a place for higher criticism; I’m just saying that it is becoming rampant; and that nothing undermines faith like suggesting that we’ve been misinformed as to the original author.

I’d rather take what some are going to call the simplistic approach that I know who wrote the books of Moses, Isaiah, the gospels and the epistles:  God did.

Beyond that, intellectualism runs the risk of serving the purposes of skepticism more than it serves Christian academic study.

 

 

For Thy Pleasure They Were Created

 

Back in the day, there was a worship song, Thou Art Worthy, which used the King James text of Revelation 4:11 –

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The newer versions indicate a different meaning from “for thy pleasure” than the one we take away today which infers the stars and planets were created for God’s enjoyment; unanimously preferring to translate that along the lines of by Thy will.

But I couldn’t help but think of the song as I read this devotional post by Michael Belote.  Be sure to click through to see the picture that goes with the story. (We used a different one here.)

As I was flying home from Denmark last week, I found myself between two layers of clouds at sunset. I found myself stunned by the beauty of the sight. Out of the window, all I could see were endless fields of cottony clouds, with the sun making a striking red-orange glow behind it.

And what struck me was: this has always been this way. Ever since creation, this view has existed. But with the exception of perhaps a few brave mountain climbers, no one in history saw this sight until the 20th century. For tens of thousands of years, humans saw the clouds only from below; now and only now can we begin to appreciate the beauty from above.

Think that through for a minute. God created the beauty long before someone else was around to view it. For well more than 99% of all sunsets in history, no man’s eye has seen the stunning sight. The same is true for the entire universe: God has created galaxies of stunning beauty, black holes of immense power, supernovas of amazing light…which will never be seen by human eyes. He created beauty in corners far from our reach.

It is entirely possible within the realm of physics that, at this very moment, on some distant planet, dual suns may be setting behind a gorgeous diamond mountain. And no one will ever see it but God. He didn’t make it for us, but for Him.

So often, we humans put ourselves as the center of the Gospel story. We see ourselves as the culmination of God’s creation and the center of His universe. We imagine that we are all that matters to Him, when in reality more matters to Him than we can imagine.

He is the center of the universe; never forget that. He created beauty because it was beautiful, and because He is a Creator–not for our glory or enjoyment, but for His. He created those stunning heavenly sunsets knowing full well that very few men in history would ever set eyes upon it; He created immense beauty in the universe knowing well that it would remain a total mystery to us forever.

Remember who the center of this universe is. Remember why He created it. For just a moment, let yourself step back and realize that even mankind as a whole is not the central character of the Gospel, much less you: the center of the Gospel is about God, and who He is, and how He loves.

Remember that He makes beauty because He is beautiful–whether we are capable of seeing His hidden sunsets or not.

~Michael Belote

Scars and Struggles on the Way

^{II Cor 4:8(NLT)} We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. ⁹ We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

^{II Cor 4:16} That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

 ^{II Cor 5:1(NLT)} For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. ² We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. ³ For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. ⁴ While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. ⁵God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

 ^{II Cor 5: 6 (NLT)} So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. ⁷ For we live by believing and not by seeing. 

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did you leave us on our own
God, You are faithful…
~Matt Redman

Tim Chester: Communities of Performance versus Communities of Grace

Tucked away in the November, 2008 archives of Timothy Chester’s blog is a fascinating distinction between two types of Christian community. He writes:

In performance-oriented churches people pretend to be okay because their standing within the church depends on it. A ‘sorted’ person is seen as the standard or the norm, and anyone who is struggling is seen as sub-standard or sub-Christian. In this kind of environment to acknowledge that you’re struggling with sin is difficult and distressing.But this is the opposite of grace. Grace acknowledges that we are all sinners, we are all messed up people, all struggling, all doubting at a functional level. But grace also affirms that in Christ we all belong, all make the grade, all are welcome, all are Christians (there are no lesser Christians).

Imagine such a church for a moment:

• Here is Andrew: he sometimes uses po rn because he struggles to find refuge in God.
• Here’s Pauline: she sometimes has panic attacks because she struggles to believe in the care of her heavenly Father.
• Here’s Abdul: he sometimes looses his temper because he struggles to believe that God is in control.
• Here’s Georgina: she sometimes has bouts of depression because she struggles to believe God’s grace.

Communities of Performance	Communities of Grace
*the leaders appear sorted	*the leaders are vulnerable
*the community appears respectable	*the community is messy
*meetings must be a polished performance	*meetings are just one part of community life
*identity is found in ministry	*identity is found in Christ
*failure is devastating	*failure is disappointing, but not devastating
*actions are driven by duty	*actions are driven by joy
*conflict is suppressed or ignored	*conflict is addressed in the open
*the focus is on orthodoxy and behaviour (allowing people to think they’re sorted)	*the focus is on the affections of the heart (with a strong view of sin and grace)

When they [Abdul, Paulina, Georgina and Andrew]  come together they accept one another and celebrate God’s grace towards each other. They rejoice that they are all children of God through the work of Christ. And they remind one another of the truths each of them needs to keep going and to change. It’s a community of grace, a community of hope, a community of change.

---

In a later post, Chester noted that communities of performance impede mission; that is to say they prevent real ministry from taking place:

Communities of Performance	Communities of Grace
*talk about grace, but communicate legalism	*people can see grace in action
*unbelievers can’t imagine themselves as Christians	*unbelievers feel like they can belong
*don’t attract broken people	*attract broken people
*the world is seen as threatening and ‘other’	*people are loved as fellow-sinners in need of grace
*conversion is superficial (people are called to respectable behaviour)	*conversion is radical (people are called to transformed affections)
*people are secretly hurting	*people are open about their problems
*people see faith and repentance as actions that took place at conversion	*people see faith and repentance as daily activities
*the gospel is for unbelievers	*the gospel is for both unbelievers and believers