What Do You See?

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On Monday we watched in disbelief as terrorists set off bombs at the Boston Marathon. Wednesday night right here in Texas a massive explosion at a fertilizer plant has killed several, injured many more, and destroyed or damaged property for 5 blocks around the plant. Why did this happen? Why does any bad thing happen? Eventually we may learn who set off those bombs and what happened at that plant, but we’re asking deeper questions. We might be asking more specifically, “why did God let it happen?”

Just Monday morning I read Psalm 34. We are told in the introduction that this psalm was written during a time when the future king David had fled his own country to avoid being killed by the jealous King Saul, whom he had faithfully served. He was hiding out with Israel’s mortal enemies, the philistines. He was afraid of that king too so he pretended to be crazy. That way the king would not consider him a threat.

You might think at this point that David would be angry and discouraged. We know from other psalms that sometimes he did feel that way, but that isn’t what he expresses here. This psalm is an expression of praise to Yahweh from beginning to end. David could have looked at his circumstances, but instead he chose to focus on the Lord.

There is a lesson here for us. David acknowledged that troubles abounded, but he knew the One who was able to deliver him. He says in verse 19, “Many are the distresses of the righteous, but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.” (LEB) I would be delighted if you joined us at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 to look at this wonderful psalm together and see what we can learn.

Singing without Thinking

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I’ know I’m not alone, though sometimes it feels like it. I remember standing next to someone in church who sang a different word than the song called for, obviously in disagreement with the lyric. I happen not to like that song either for a similar reason if not the same one. Do we even think about what we’re singing? Is it any better to sing a lie than to just speak it? Maybe it’s worse because of the power that music has to influence us.

Some lyrics are just weird. “There is a fountain filled with blood?” Really? Christians understand the symbolism in that phrase, but how does it sound to someone with no knowledge of the faith? To them it’s just disgusting. Frankly, I agree with them, and it’s not true. Jesus paid for our sins with His blood. It is good to memorialize that sacrifice in song, but thank God there’s no bloody fountain we all have to dive into.

Then there’s just plain bad theology. A specific example isn’t coming to mind at the moment, but if you pay attention I’m sure you will spot it. We can find it in the hymns and we can find it in our modern worship. Maybe it agrees with that of the church where we’re going or maybe it doesn’t. The latter is probably true more than we would like to think. The trouble is we don’t think. We just sing. Maybe we even like the song because it makes us feel good.

The songs that get to me the most are those with narcissistic lyrics. Two in particular come to mind. Whenever I sing them I leave out the offending word and phrase. These are the songs that over personalize what Jesus did on the cross. I don’t dispute the idea that if only one of us needed saving He would have done it just for the one. I think that’s true, though if there’s anyone for whom I might doubt it, I am that person. But he didn’t give his life “just for me.” He gave it for everyone who would call on His name. He didn’t think of “me above all.” If anyone was “above all” it was our Heavenly Father. Was He thinking of us? We can get that from scripture. After all, it was us for whom He died. We can take that very personally, but let’s keep to the truth in His word. Let’s be sure we are glorifying Jesus rather than ourselves.

Do you think about what you’re singing? Have you ever refused to sing something that you didn’t believe to be true? Do you think I’m just a legalist? Write me back.

He Is Risen!

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This Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. At Bartimaeus Baptist Temple, we’ll be celebrating with a time of communion, special music, and a light dinner after the service. I hope you can come and join us. I’m going to be sharing from 1 Corinthians 15:1-14. Here Paul explains how crucial Jesus’ resurrection is to the message of the Gospel. Without it, he says, our faith is worthless! Most people don’t have any trouble believing that Jesus was a real person. They will usually agree that He was a good person. We have historical record that He was crucified by the Roman government, so most people can accept that. The problem comes when we talk about the fact that he was also raised from the dead three days later. This is no less true for its incredible nature, and as Paul points out, there were many who saw Him after He was raised.

This Sunday, I would like to share with you two things. First we will talk about the necessity of the resurrection to our faith. Then I’ll give you some information that you can use when you share your faith with others and the question of His resurrection comes up. Let us proclaim with boldness and confidence, “He is risen!”

You Are What You Think

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I was sitting here in my office one day after getting back from a visit to Linda while she was in the hospital. I was trying to process all that was happening and how we should be thinking about it. We trust the Lord always, but sometimes it’s hard to hold on when your world is shaking around you. How much will she recover? What will we do? Can we cope with the new reality? The Lord had already been dealing with me about what I spend my time thinking about. It was time for the next lesson.

When I set out to post the introduction for this week’s sermon, I planned a rather straightforward exhortation about how we need to renew our minds by focusing our thoughts on the things of God instead of the things of this world. Romans 12:2 will remain the key verse from which we will launch our study, but I see now that I was going to take it completely out of its context. It’s important for us to realize when we read the Bible that it is not a collection of disjointed snippets that we can cut and paste together to fit our fancy. It’s a collection of historical accounts, poetry, prophecies, and letters; divinely assembled to give us the instructions we need to live as God intended. The book of Romans is one of my favorite books to pull from, but it is a single letter and really should be read from beginning to end. However, we can’t really tackle that in 30 minutes, so we’ll try to extract the sense of certain parts without violating the meaning of the whole.

I would be delighted to have you join us today at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple at 2:30 as we look into Romans chapter 12 and maybe just a bit of 11 so we can see what the therefore is there for and see what Paul meant when he said that we should be transformed by the renewing of our minds. I look forward to seeing you there because I expect God to show us great things!

Better Off Dead?

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I was going to put this down in the form of a poem, which quickly evolved into a song. When I got started I realized I just wanted to lay it out. I don’t have any delusions about the quality of my attempts at literary prowess, so why subject you to it? I couldn’t sleep this morning and for some reason started thinking about how the world changes if someone isn’t in it. I’m sure with the Christmas season just passed It’s A Wonderful Life was in the back of my mind somewhere. Most of us don’t live such dramatic lives, but all of our lives are precious.

Depression seems to be epidemic in this country and if my layman’s information is correct the situation is the same across the western world. We all struggle with times of sadness and difficult circumstances that bring us down for a while, and we say we’re depressed. It’s become part of our common vernacular. Then there’s the persistent depression we call clinical depression and dispense medication for. I don’t want to dismiss any real conditions that might cause chemical imbalances in the brain that lead to depression with purely physical causes, though I do wonder which comes first in some cases, the imbalance, or the spiritual and emotional dysfunction. I am speaking in terms that might be considered cold and clinical; maybe ill-informed and unfeeling. If that’s the impression you’re getting, read back over some of the other things I’ve written in this blog. I think you’ll see the evidence of the struggle in my own life. I speak from personal experience and as one who is still on the journey.

Now to answer the question, yes! I am better off dead. I am better off dead to the sin that draws me away from the life that is found in my Lord Jesus and into a death from which there is no salvation. That’s the symbolism of Christian baptism; the death of the old and the birth of the new. I am better off dead to my own selfish desires, which will only lead me deeper into depression. They can only do so because I am not the source of life. Yahweh is the source of life. His Holy Spirit lives within me, but if I will not listen to Him, I will not have the benefit of the only true Counselor.

I believe the best thing we can do to fight depression is to get the focus off of ourselves. I don’t think it helps much to merely contemplate the state of someone worse off than ourselves. We’ve got to get in there and actually help. That’s when things start to change because that’s when we’re doing what God made us to do. We’re made in his image. We’re not going to be healthy unless we’re doing what we’re made for. So are you depressed? You really are better off dead! (See Romans 6, Colossians 3:1-17.) Leave off worrying all the problems you have, serious though they may be. Focus instead on helping someone else solve theirs. I’ll bet you that if your problems don’t get better, your perspective on them will.

Reflections on Fear

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All of us know it. Some of us have conquered it. Others it rules. It can protect us, or it can stop us at every turn. It can be guided by reason or slay all reason in its path. A step becomes a precipice. A mouse becomes a lion. No one wants to be pitied, but there is nothing so pitiful as one imprisoned by insubstantial bars of unreasoning fear. Woe to those who would help such a one. Like a wounded animal who cannot distinguish between friend and foe, he or she will strike out at these kind souls and no one will be the better.

What is the solution? It has been said that faith is the opposite of fear. Maybe that is true. Certainly if one trusts in God he need not fear, but I believe that something else comes first. John the disciple says that “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear…” (John 4:18.) Yes, I’m robbing the context a little and I generally don’t like to do that, but I think the point I want to make is safe. Trust begins with love. That same passage says that we love God because He loved us first. We learn to trust him because He took the initiative.

When we observe someone who is trapped in fear, we need to first show them love. It’s going to be hard and it’s going to take a long time. But over time we will begin to build trust and then maybe we can start to deal with the issues at the root of the fear. I write as if I know something about this. These are reflections based on observation and trying to walk through my own life in a way that is pleasing to Yahweh. I’ve had limited experience trying to put them into practice. We’ll see what I think of them in a few years.

What’s A Funeral For?

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I was once asked what I wanted at my funeral. My first thought was that I am way too young for that question. It’s true that none of us knows when God may call time, but chances are I’ll be here a while longer. Then I gave it a moment’s thought, but not a very long moment. I’ll grant that there’s some value in laying out a few things to guide grieving relatives as they cope with your departure, but here’s my problem. It may be my funeral, but it’s not about me. Yes, people would be talking about me and there’d be pictures of me and so on and so on, but the whole event is not for my benefit. I’m not there.

I’ve honestly had trouble understanding people who have adamant demands about how their funeral is to be conducted. Why do they care? Is it pride? They won’t be there to observe any of it. Why not allow friends and relatives to grieve in whatever ways will bring them the most comfort? If something unexpected were to happen to me, this is certainly what I hope for; that those closest to me will do whatever they need to do to deal with their own grief and also do the best they are able to accommodate that of others who knew me.

Dogged Dogma

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I have noticed a troubling trait among those of us who have been trained for many years with a certain theology.  I of course am noticing it in people who whold a different view than mine, but I am not unwilling to accept that I may have the same weakness, perhaps even in the same area.

I’m going to speak in generalities because the particular question on my mind at the moment is one on which I have an opinion but do not yet have full confidence to stand against the storm that will surely commence when I make my position known.  The specific issue isn’t really important to the point I’d like to make. That is, your doctrine ought not to be dictating the way you read your Bible.

With distressing regularity I hear very devout and scholarly individuals explain away certain passages of scripture that say inconvenient thangs in very plain language that don’t happen to fit very well with prevailing theology.  Usually they reference two ore three mainstays and then go to great lengths to explain how the scripture just cannot mean what it plainly says based on these other scriptures.  They will say we can’t take scripture out of context while taking their own scripture out of context.

Context is important.  We have the collection of scripture that we have because it all works together to present the truth that Yahweh wanted us to have.  We need to read it all as it was intended to be read, but let no one use that as an argument to distract you from actually doing what they suggest.  I’d just like to ask you to stop and consider something.  If you keep reading things in your Bible that conflict with what you’ve been taught, it is possible that what you’ve been taught is wrong.  Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to the truth.

When God Was Born

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Linda and I will have the honor of delivering the Sunday school lesson and sermon at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple this week. I’ve been contemplating the wonder of Jesus. This time of year we sing the songs about the sweet little baby and create idyllic scenes depicting the story, often with questionable fidelity to the actual account. We know that He was born to save us. We acknowledge the miracle of the virgin birth and retell the amazing story of the night that God came down to us. I wonder though if we really grasp the awesomeness of what happened.

It’s a difficult thing for us to understand, how that God the Father could remain in Heaven while God the Son came to live among us, yet did not cease to be God. Jesus Himself said, “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) For us to fully understand what Jesus did, we need to remember this; He lived his life among us as the perfect man, yet he was and is God.

Several false religions begin by attacking this critical issue, so I would like to take some time to point out the scripture that shows that Jesus was and is God. If He isn’t, our whole belief system unravels. To paraphrase the late C.S. Lewis, by His own claims, Jesus must be either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. We of course know that He is Lord, but I will share with you a few key verses so that you can be ready the next time someone challenges the deity of Jesus. In deference to the season, we’ll start with Matthew 1:23, which is a quote from Isaiah 7:14. I would be delighted if you would come and join us as we discover anew the wonder of “God with us.”

To Friends and Family

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It has been a long time since I’ve written anything of significance here aside from a couple of plugs for my sermons at Bartimaeus Baptist Temple. Not that anyone is exactly hanging on my every word, but I thought I would explain myself and provide an update for friends and family. The last few months have been tough. In late June, I began to suffer constant headaches. Most of the time they weren’t debilitating, and at first I could treat them successfully with Ibuprofen. In early July I went to my doctor. He suspected migraines but also did a blood test. That blood test suggested that I might have temporal arteritis, an inflammation of the arteries that can lead to blindness or to stroke.

Thus began a succession of doctors, MRI scans, and an exploratory surgery. I now have a second scar on my head to go with the one I got as a child from hitting a bed rail. I don’t have temporal arteritis. The current assumption is that I do have migraines and I am seeing a headache specialist. I remain somewhat skeptical, but after reading up on it I consider it possible. The headaches are mostly under control now, though it is still rare that I have a day with no headache at all. It has been all I can do to keep up with my responsibilities at work and at church. I fear I have not done that very well.

Meanwhile, my beloved wife is not doing as well physically as she was at first and our options for doing anything about it seem to be disappearing. Others whom I love are facing their own problems. It has been a bit of a struggle for me to keep perspective. However, I remain determined to keep my trust in Yahweh. He has blessed us beyond measure. He has a purpose for us, and He will accomplish it. We don’t know what to expect from the future, but we do expect Him to make something good from it.

One good thing that has come from my own difficulties is a resolution to improve my health. Whether there is a connection between the headaches and my weight I don’t know, but the headaches got my attention. I thought about the future and what may be required of me. For much of my adult life I suspected that I might not see fifty. That didn’t really bother me. I wasn’t suicidal but I didn’t care that much about living either. I’m ashamed of it now because I wasn’t trusting God that what He said of my life would come to pass.

Now I look toward the future with hope despite the problems it may bring. I can no longer ignore my responsibility to be ready both spiritually and physically. I was trying to exercise more before the headaches started, but physical activity made them worse, so I stopped. Now that they are more controlled I have found that I can exercise, though I still proceed with caution. I’ve started a diet and expect to be at a healthy weight by the end of next year.

I’m feeling better. Linda has retained the mental sharpness that the last treatment afforded her. We are pressing forward, taking each day as it comes and doing what we can. Yahweh’s grace is sufficient.