Sunday, December 18, 2005

"Can God make a rock...

...too large for Him to lift?"

Warning: the following post contains a paradox.

One of our pastors was teaching this morning our of Isaiah 7
Isaiah 7:14. NASB95. “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”

Matthew 1:23 NASB95. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
He noted, and I am paraphrasing, that God had warned His people that He was going to show up as a man, “God with us.” They had 700 years of warning, and they missed it. He was born; was a toddler, a child, a young man, a carpenter, and an itinerant preacher; performed miracles and all the rest.

He became a man, the normal way, but being a baby and child first. And they missed it.

An angel shows up and has to say “be not afraid” before he can deliver a message.

God was born a baby, lived a full life, and no one noticed that He was God. He “made a rock so heavy that He could not lift,” and then lifted it.

An additional point he made: What would God look like if He showed up today? Would we recognize him?

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Exercising Gratitude

Colossians 3:15 NASB95. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Kenneth Wuest Translation: And the peace of Christ, let it be acting as umpire in your hearts, into which also you were called in one body. And be constantly thankful persons.

"Self-made religion"

Colossians 2:20-23, 3:1-4. NASB 95
20 If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,
21 “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”
22 (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?
23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
Colossians 2:20-23 refers to “self-made religion" (Wuest translation: “self-made, self-imposed worship”). As a result of the fall, we want to make our own religion. It looks good; it has an appearance of wisdom, but it is useless. The mind set in 2:20-23 is the mind set on the things of this earth (3:2).

What then is “true religion” (other than James 1:27)?

I suggest I can find some of it in Colossians 3:1-4: “keep seeking the things above, where Christ is.”

This is where my mind and my heart needs to be, laying up treasures in heaven. Or, as we would say it today, "putting my stock" in heaven.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Exercising Gratitude

Hebrews 13:15 NASB95
"Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name."

Life in the cubicle farm

Genesis 3:17-19 NASB95.
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

Matthew 11:28 NASB95
28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
In contemporary America, the literal curse of the fall applies to few. In fact, only to those of us who make our living farming. But have the rest of us escaped it? Does trading the field for the factory floor or for the desk in a cubicle farm mean we don’t “earn our bread by the sweat of our face?”

For what have we traded fear of weather, insects, plant diseases, wolves, and bank foreclosures?

The cubicle farm and its relatives look wonderful; full of creature comforts, quiet and secure. At what cost?

The curse of the fall is not going to end just by entering another field of work. The air-conditioned cool of an office has its own sweaty labor and set of fears. Financial worries, unreasonable bosses and co-workers, an insecure economy. But even more so, we bring the curse of the fall with us.

You can take the sweaty farmer out of the field, but not the fearful and tired dirt farmer out of the cubical farmer. He (or she) is still inside each of us.

Jesus alone can lift the curse of the fall. Where we deserve the thorns and thistles of memos, meetings, and “voluntary separations,” He gives us His rest. Not rest from the labor, not while we are alive, but rest in the midst of the labor.

Ask and receive. He has promised it.

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Blogging The Friendship Factor. Conclusion

Reading this book (Amazon link) has been a very convicting experience.

And I have enjoyed it very much.

This last post is a summary of things that I have learned.

John 15:13 (NASB) “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”

First, being a friend means a laying down of myself in specific, concrete ways:
• a willingness to listen (and to be silent)
• to make eye contact (this is difficult for me)
• a willingness to spend my time with others (rather than on myself)
• a willingness to talk about emotions (never easy in a guy)

I John 1:9 (NASB) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

James 5:16a (NASB) “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.”

Second, being a friend means a willingness to be vulnerable, and to face the fear of rejection:
• facing our “shadow side,” our fallen human nature and being transparent with one another
• in appropriate setting and with appropriate people, confessing our sins.
• “sharing deeply of hurts, joys, sins, and excesses.” page 37

I Peter 1:22 (NASB) “Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love (affection or fondness) of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.”

Third, “love is something that you do”
• being thoughtful to give gifts to others and to give thoughtful gifts
• being thankful for what someone has done for you
• “express it when you feel it.” (Rob during our discussion of Ch 4)
• “doing” love

Fourth, do not be manipulative in relationships. Allow the other person room to be himself. Let him talk, do not be free with advice, do not dominate the friendship.

Blogging The Friendship Factor. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: How to Improve Your Conversation Skills

This is the last chapter that we are doing as a group. The guy that has been leading the group says that he saved the best for last. And this is the best chapter that we have done.

The basic idea of the chapter is that the best way to improve one’s conversation skills, and to be a better friend, is to learn to listen to others, ask questions, and keep your mouth shut about what you hear.

Sound advice.

I think that is a reflection of the pastor’s heart of this man that he got stuck on this chapter. One of the key things about being a pastor is an ability to lay one’s self aside in order to serve another person by listening.

The section headings tell the story:
• Good listeners listen with their eyes
• Good listeners never break a confidence
• Good listeners complete the loop (responding to comments)
• Good listeners show gratitude when someone confides

The first and third are characteristic of “active” listeners. That is, listeners who are paying close attention to what is being said.

One of the things that Dr. McGinnis emphasizes is that being a good listener does not mean giving advice or sound counsel. There is a time and place for that, but being a friend means being an “ear” first.

When I was in high school, a friend of mine complimented me on being a good “ear.” I think that was because I was so ignorant that I never knew what to say, so I listened. Somewhere along the line, I learned a lot of stuff, and I like talking. As I have said in other posts, when it comes to teaching, that is a feature not a bug.

Sadly, I have stopped listening to an extent, and I am full of advice (well, I am 52 and have made mistakes in all the major and most of the minor aspects of being alive).

See the post above for more about this.