The Gospel in Real Life

We went to see The Book of Eli today. I liked it. And no, I don’t think the Book of Eli is a book of the Bible. If you can make it past the gore of the first part of the movie, it gets very good. I don’t want to give away the movie in case you’re still planning to see it, but I can tell you that the story revolves around a man named Eli (Denzel Washington) who has one of the last copies of the Bible (if not the last copy), following a global disaster and he is tasked with getting it safely across the country. That briefly sums it up without giving away anything. Near the end of the movie, Eli made a statement that grabbed my attention and is the point of this blog post. While confiding in Solara (played by Mila Kunis of That 70’s Show fame) about his passion and drive for protecting the Bible, he makes this statement:

In all these years I’ve been carrying it and reading it every day and I got so caught up in keeping it safe that I forgot to live by what I learned from it.

That line had quite an impact on me because it can be true in the Christian life. We can get so caught up in being technically correct in our understanding of Scripture that we unknowingly stop being gracious and gospel focused. We can begin to think that it is our responsibility to go after people whom we have identified as being less technically accurate than we are in their interpretation and understanding of Scripture. We may talk a lot about grace as a Biblical concept and the gospel as a Biblical concept while at the same time, not really understanding how to practice and live it. In other words, we gather the data and teach it clearly but at the same time, we are dysfunctional to varying degrees in our willingness or ability to be gracious to others who might disagree with us on subjects or issues that at the end of the day, don’t really matter. When we do this, we turn grace into law because grace is just a theological concept to be interpreted, defined, and compiled and not a life-changing experience. Just saying. By the way, I recommend the Book of Eli.

I have a dear friend who insists that, “A reading Christian is a growing Christian.” That statement is packed with truth. It was this same friend who quite a number of years ago, got me on the path of reading more consistently and expanding my library and quite honestly, it changed my life. I’m not talking about reading novels (although that is a good thing), but I’m talking about reading theological books that stretch you. There is no substitute for that kind of reading when it’s coupled with reading our Bibles. With the holidays upon us, I’ve not been reading as much and I can’t wait to get back to it. I miss it, and I don’t feel as sharpened as I do when I’m reading more. I’m not big on New Year resolutions, but I am looking forward to the holiday distractions passing and getting back into a pattern of reading good books and getting stretched theologically and practically.

I want to encourage you to do the same. Begin to build your library and fill it with great books. Read them and write in them as you read. Read a systematic theology this year. Grudem is great. His style is user-friendly. Read Calvin’s Institutes. Read a commentary on a book of the Bible. Read something by Read more…

Chapter 33 of the book of Numbers describes and recounts the ultimate camping trip. It’s Moses’ own journal, in a condensed form, of Israel’s exodus from Egypt (Numbers 33:1-2). Yes, Moses seems to have done some journaling, at least on this one occasion. When you read it, it sounds as though things are moving along quickly and Israel just can’t make up its mind where it wants to pitch its tent. They camp in one spot and then seem to suddenly move, only to settle in another location, and then, you guessed it, they move again. It’s as though somebody forgot to bring the map, or maybe the GPS, and they can’t quite make up their minds about where to go next. Reading it, you also get the impression that they must have covered a large piece of real estate with all the moving they did, but that is not the case. They were confined to a relatively small area between the Sinai peninsula and Canaan. Here’s a brief sample of how fast-moving the chapter sounds.

And they set out from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai. And they set out from the wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah. And they set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. And they set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. (Numbers 33:15-18)

And on and on it goes. As fast-moving as the chapter sounds, it actually covers about 40 years of Israel’s history. It begins with Israel’s escape from Read more…

Becoming a legalist isn’t that hard. It’s actually pretty easy because I think most of us have a bent toward it to one degree or another. If you practice legalism, you are already a legalist. One dictionary defines legalism this way: “Strict adherence, or the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, esp. to the letter rather than the spirit.” A second definition describes legalism as, “Strict, literal adherence to the law or to a particular code, as of religion or morality.” It provides us with a third definition of legalism specific to theology as, “the judging of conduct in terms of adherence to precise laws.” These are all accurate descriptions of legalism.

For a legalist, the world is black and white with no shades of gray. By that I mean there is a list of rules to be adhered to and as long as I am adhering to the list, life is good and I’m doing ok. There are things you do and there are things you don’t do as a legalist and the list of “don’ts” is often much longer than the list of “do’s.”  For example, failure to adhere to strict rules like don’t go to movies, don’t drink alcohol, don’t smoke that occasional cigar, don’t (if you’re a woman) wear pants or jeans, and don’t listen to rock music tend to be more important to the legalist than whether or not I am growing in Christ. For the legalist, spiritual growth cannot be completely accomplished apart from Read more…

It’s Sunday morning and I’m in Prescott, AZ. I’m more of a morning person than a night owl. I love the mornings and this morning was different than most because I usually don’t wake up in Prescott, Arizona for the simple reason that I don’t live here. As I sat in my hotel room sipping coffee, reading scripture, checking email and catching up with the latest chatter on Twitter and Facebook, I noticed a woodpecker on the tree right outside my window. So I stopped everything else that I was doing and watched him for a while. He had no idea I was there, so he kept pecking away. This is kind of a big deal because you don’t see a lot of woodpeckers where I live in the Phoenix area. As I watched him working so hard pecking away at that big tree, a couple of things came to mind. The first was how undisciplined and inconsistent I can be in my walk with the Lord, and the second was how consistent and persistent the Lord is in the work he is doing in our lives. It gave me a renewed appreciation of Read more…

Not too long ago I posted a blog called, “Praying Like a Human” and in it, we looked at Hebrews 5:7-8 where we’re told that Jesus prayed “with loud cries and tears” during his time on earth. I was encouraged to see that Jesus, God in the flesh, wrestled in some way with prayer. There is a human side to prayer that needs the freedom to express itself and the freedom to reach out in faith and trust him. Sure, we understand the sovereignty of God and the idea that his will is going to be done, but that shouldn’t keep us away from effectual prayer (James 5:16). You can see that entire post [HERE].

Today I want to look at another verse that’s been encouraging me. This one isn’t about prayer, at least not directly, but it is about being anxious and dealing with anxiety. You’re probably thinking that I’m going to take you to the book of Philippians and you are right. If you’re thinking that I’m going to point you to Philippians 4:6 where Paul tells us to not be anxious, you are wrong. We’ll get there in a moment, but not yet. First, I want to look two chapters earlier in Philippians at another statement that Paul makes, seemingly in passing. In Philippians 2:28 he said:

I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.

In the context, he is talking about sending Epaphroditus to the Philippians because they had heard that he almost died from an illness and that illness was somehow tied to his serving the Lord. He probably carried Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Evidently, because of Epaphroditus’ relationship with the Philippian church, Paul was anxious about Read more…

It’s encouraging to look into Scripture and see people struggling with the same things I struggle with. The Psalms are loaded with the daily struggle to trust God and walk by faith and let’s face it, that can be a real struggle. It’s encouraging to see the Psalmist work his way through a trial or conflict and then watch him merge from the tension looking not at his circumstances or own lack of faith, but looking at what God has promised and resolving to hold to it even if the emotions aren’t there. In other words, to walk by faith and not by sight.

There are a couple of verses that I want to share with you that have been such an encouragement to me of late to be more human and feeling in my walk with Christ and less heady and theologically staunch. The first one is in the letter to the Hebrews. Check this out…

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. (Hebrews 5:7-8)

Let’s take a minute to unpack this. The chapter starts out with the writer saying that the priests of the Old Testament, who acted as mediators between God and the people, could deal gently with the people because they understood and Read more…

Slander is a horrible and brutal thing. Scripture cautions and warns us against slander. Here are some passage for your consideration to get us thinking about the subject of slander.

• Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure. (Psalm 101:5)

• Let not the slanderer be established in the land; let evil hunt down the violent man speedily! (Psalm 140:11)

• The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander is a fool. (Proverbs 10:18)

• Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler. (Proverbs 20:19)

• Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered. (Proverbs 11:31)

• For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. (Matthew 15:19)

Slander is a problem – a big problem. It’s a sin that can arise quickly if we’re not sensitized to the need for its mortification. Anticipating this, Paul wrote, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” (Ephesians 4:31) Slander is one of those sins and habits of the old self that we are to put off. In its place we are to put on these characteristics of our new nature in Christ, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32) In other words, Paul takes us right to the heart of the Read more…

I came across this article today on Jim Elliff’s website at Christian Communicators Worldwide. It’s written by Susan Verstraete and is a very encouraging read. She begins:

It’s a good thing he wasn’t born in the 20th century. Many believing brothers and sisters would label his tendency to melancholy sinful, or evidence of a lack of self-discipline, or even the result of shallow faith. A psychologist would probably send him away with a prescription and a self-help book with twelve easy steps to overcome depression. But Charles Haddon Spurgeon, perhaps the greatest preacher of the 19th century, had a different attitude toward his affliction.

Continue reading at the CCW web site..

We went to a concert last week and I forgot to bring earplugs. Shame on me! We were in a big arena, but we had floor seats not too far from the stage. It was noisy and it was loud! Normally, that doesn’t bother me too much because I’m an old rocker, but afterward, my ears were ringing. In fact, they were still ringing several days later. There were a few times during the evening where certain notes were hit that really nailed my aging eardrums, almost to the point of hurting. For a brief instant, the otherwise good music turned into an annoying and agitating noise.

Sometimes our lives can be like that. Sometimes our lives as Christians can turn sour and produce notes that instead of being a pleasure to listen to and watch, become agitating, annoying and even hard for others to endure. If we are not careful, sometimes our lives can Read more…

I was originally going to title this, “Judging Others Motives”, but it’s about more than that. Then I thought “Judging One Another’s Motives” would be good, but it’s about more than that. Then I considered “Judging My Own Motives”, but it’s about more than that. So I settled on “Judging Motives” because that title includes all of the above and that’s what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the tragedy of judging each others motives as well as the importance of not becoming consumed with judging our own motives.

Paul talks about this subject in his first letter to the Corinthian churches. It seems that some in Corinth were talking disparagingly about Paul and being critical of him, possible to the point of attempting to discredit his ministry as an Apostle altogether. In response, he writes to them,

But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. (1 Corinthians 4:3-5)

It’s easy to become critical of others if we don’t understand what the Lord is doing in their lives, or if we start to assume that we know their motives and that we know what’s best for them. But that’s what Paul is addressing. The first half of this passage addresses how we should respond when others begin judging us and being critical of us. The second half of the passage admonishes me to not get caught in the sinful trap of pronouncing unjust judgment on others. To think that I have other people’s motives figured out and then to think that because I think I have them figured out, I have the right to Read more…

I’m going to write this blog, not knowing exactly where it’s going. But that’s ok because spontaneity doesn’t ALWAYS have to be planned! Just most of the time. I’ve been coming back to 2 Corinthians 4 over the last week or so, and reading and rereading it as a devotional. Maybe I should put it here for you so you can have it in front of you.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

The treasure that Paul is speaking of is “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” from verse 6. It is the life-altering power of the gospel. It is the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. It is a participation in God’s glory because of the cross of Christ. It is knowing Christ intimately and knowing the power of his resurrection (Philippians 3:10) firsthand. It is the forgiveness of sin and unconditional acceptance with the Father because of the cross. It is a knowledge OF God, not a superficial knowledge ABOUT God. This is experiential knowledge because every believer experiences God. Every believer experiences saving grace. This is treasure! This is true and lasting treasure! This is priceless treasure (Matthew 13:44) that never fades away and is reserved in heaven for Read more…