How to Respond to the Charleston Massacre

Last Sunday I spoke briefly about the recent Charleston massacre. Below is a link to a blog post that is helpful for us as we seek to bring the gospel to bear in relation to such a tragedy and the sin of racism in general.

Steve

www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/mlk-speaks-for-the-charleston-nine?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+tgcblog+%28The+Gospel+Coalition+Blog%29#When:05:00:00

Being Salt and Light in this World

On Sunday (July 5^th) I shared with you that as a church we need to have a firm grasp of the Word of God and also an awareness of the culture in which we are living. We are called to be salt and light in this world (Matthew 5:13-16), and to do this rightly we need to be guided by the truth of God’s Word.  This is not always an easy task, and we must think clearly in so many areas of challenge that we find ourselves living in today.  For this reason, I will be passing on to you from time to time insights from men who are committed to God’s word and are insightful in terms of how to live out the truth in the world that we live.

The Supreme Court’s ruling regarding same-sex marriage is certainly reflective of a culture and legal move that is at odds with God’s truth and creative order.  Below you will find some links to blog posts that are helpful in our response to this issue.  I hope you take that time to read and think through these articles.

In Jesus,

Steve Matson

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/06/26/why-the-church-should-neither-cave-nor-panic-about-the-decision-on-gay-marriage/

http://www.russellmoore.com/2015/06/26/weve-been-here-before-lessons-for-the-marriage-debate-from-the-pro-life-movement/

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/same-sex-marriage-and-the-future

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/so-called-same-sex-marriage

Christian Music:Beautiful Yet Dangerous

As a worship leader and Christian song writer, Christian music is something I listen to, think about, write, and play a lot.  And I want to say first off, I love it.  The fact that God gives us the gift of music which is not necessary to our survival, but adds enjoyment and beauty, is something I appreciate deeply.  Within the Church, it’s one of the most emotionally loaded topics in common Christian discussions, in my experience.  Music in general is close to our hearts as a culture.  So, I wanted to talk about some of the dangers that we need to be aware of as Christians who listen to Christian music, whether sporadically or exclusively. There are two dangers, to be exact, that I would like to talk about.

Danger#1: Assuming Truth

The first and I’d say most dangerous aspect of Christian music is that we don’t typically listen with a discerning ear.  Music has a way of sneaking past any safe guards we may have .  We can easily assume that because the artist is Christian, the song is on Christian radio, or because we sing it in church, that it’s true.  However, from listening to countless hours of Christian music, let me tell you that unfortunately that’s not always the case.  The tricky part is that every Christian song that we've probably ever heard sounds very “Christian”.  A song may use familiar words or phrases that we've heard in church or even read in the Bible, but that does not make it inherently biblical.

We are typically familiar with the concept of biblical discernment with how we process preaching.  We are taught to emulate the example of the Bereans in Acts 17:11 who were “examining the scriptures daily to see if these things were so”.  So as Paul was preaching to them, they were testing everything He said against the scriptures.  We may do that as we listen to preaching, but it’s not as common for that kind of filtering to be applied to Christian music.

But, why should we exercise the same kind of discernment with Christian music that we do with preaching? Because probably every single one of us who have any background in the church, have memorized more songs than scriptures.  Why? Because for reasons that I cannot really explain, music is a very effective teaching medium.  That’s why we teach children the ABC’s as a song, and they never forget it.  That’s why to this day I still remember all the multiples of 3, how conjunctions work and the process of a political bill becoming a law -  thanks to School House Rock.  So, whether we realize it or not, we are being theologically and doctrinally educated through the songs we listen to.  The lyrics with the melody tattoo truths onto our minds and hearts.  So we need to make sure that the “truth” of the song lines up with the truth of the Bible.

Now this requires us to know our Bibles.  We have to know the truth so that we can discern what is true and worship in truth (John 4:23-24).  And although the music we listen to as Christians may not be on our radar as one of the major ways we learn theology, we have to understand, it is.  With every song we memorize, we are learning a proposed “truth”, but it may or may not be biblical.  We may be filling our minds with false teaching put to music, making it more likely to be stuck in our heads until it misleads our hearts.

Danger#2: Worship Confusion

The other potentially dangerous thing that I’ve come in contact with as a worship leader is the confusion about what can/should be categorized as worship songs.  Now if we define worship as “the acknowledgment of worth”, as most dictionaries and google do based on the Latin origin of the word, then a worship song should be one that leads us to acknowledge the worth of God.  How can a song do that?  Well, the most effective way is for it to present the worth of God.  Every song paints a picture or tells a story.  When it comes to worship songs they paint a picture of God.  This is also why the first danger we discussed is important: because if a song is painting a different picture than the Bible does, we have a problem.  But, with that being said, a worship song is one that should proclaim who God is and what He has done, giving us the opportunity to acknowledge His worth.

I've listened to a lot of “worship music”, been to many worship concerts and conferences for worship leaders; even there, it seems that there is some confusion about what our musical worship is supposed to accomplish.  I was at one worship conference where the entire song set was composed of songs whose primary focus was on who we are.  Here me out: Understanding that our identity is in Christ is a good thing, but worship is not about our worth.  It is about His.

Even in the midst of songs like this, we can worship God, but we have to take matters into our own hands.  To lead our hearts to consider such truths as “who are we that you are mindful of us” and to pray things like “God thank you that because you are a loving Father you have adopted me as a son, I want to praise you for the work you have done in giving me this gift that I do not deserve” are just two examples that come to mind when I find myself being led  to focus on my worth in Christ rather than the worth of Christ Himself.

I am not saying that these songs are evil or should never be listened to.  I think they help us to learn and find a solid sense of our identity in Christ in order to combat the lies our flesh and the Devil teach us. However, we are not worshiping God if we remain the focal point.  They are songs of encouragement, proclaiming biblical truths that we need to take hold of as followers of Christ, but the worth of God in those songs is not the primary focus, and in worship it MUST be.

Also, if we find ourselves in the midst of identity crisis, tragedy, trial etc. the best course of action is not for us to try and boost our self-esteem using the truths of the Bible to re-kindle a sense of self-worth or self-belief.  There’s a fine line there between clinging to our Gospel identity and worshiping ourselves, one that I personally try to steer clear of for the sake of my own heart which I know easily falls into selfishness and pride.  The words of a pretty well-known hymn say it better than I can: “turn your eyes upon Jesus.  Look full in His wonderful face and the things of earth (our troubles, fears, insecurities, struggles, etc.) will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”  The most effective approach for us to remedy the afflictions we are faced with is not to focus on ourselves or even try to focus on the problem; it’s to focus on Jesus.  And what I can say from personal experience and observation is that when we focus on Jesus or the Father, or the Holy Spirt (preferably all three), then our problems get put in right perspective, and things end up falling into place.

You may have realized that the danger is not so much in the music itself as it is in how we process or use it.  The truth is that we are responsible for guarding our hearts against these dangers to make sure we are not being led into confusions or distortions of how God has called us to use music and participate in it.  So, as fellow worshipers of God, I prayerfully urge you to be aware of the dangers of Christian music.  Don’t abandon it or run from it; that’s not what I’m trying to say.  My hope is that we would embrace the beautiful gift God has given us in music that expresses the truth, but simultaneously be watchful because we can so subtly and sweetly be led astray.

He is Risen (Easter Spoken Word)

“He is risen, He is risen indeed”

The familiar phrase flies between the teeth

The celebration of this day condensed to one line

And year after year, it’s tradition to recite

Now there’s always a risk that repetition may compromise definition

That words of truth may be sapped of power and meaning

That’s why this morning, my people, I’m pleading

Meditate on the resurrected Lord

For this vital truth, the climax of time

Can fade in our minds to a mythological mystery

With no greater significance than a tale of fantasy

We can easily forget, that it changed our reality

The empty tomb is a symbol of newness of life

Without it we are hopeless and death reigns on high

What the world would be, if nothing happened on day three

We struggle to fathom, our hearts can’t imagine

What life would be like without the risen Christ

For it intangibly altered every fate

And a chill grips my spine while I contemplate

Picture the earth, no more chance for second birth

No purpose for the Church, all trapped under sin’s curse

The cross reduced to a sentimental sacrifice

Our Messiah merely a martyr, the Lamb of God slaughtered

But no redemption or salvation could be offered to anyone

Every noble pursuit, objectively worthless

If up from the grave, Jesus never surfaced

I could go on, but am glad I don’t have to

For Jesus lives, my friends, I’m just here to remind you

What we celebrate is history changed

The path of victory blazed

Unto eternal life in glory

That miraculous past unleashes power
Transcending to this and every hour

For death has lost its sting

The risen King of kings, by grace through faith in Him sets free

So that is why we recite with glee

He is risen, yes, He is risen indeed

A Vulnerable Trek Through Life Right Now

Hey there.  What I want to do for this blog entry is just be honestly vulnerable for a few minutes and walk you through the work God has been doing in me amidst some of my day to day struggles.  My prayer is that some of you will find a sense of empathy, others will find helpful applications and all of us will develop greater hope in God.

The last few days I’ve been wrestling with what I could only describe as a “burdened soul”.  The seemingly tangible weight from intangible causes that makes the normal activities feel bogged down.  Personally, although this might seem cliche, it’s as if a somber cloud has been hovering over my heart for no reason that is apparent to me.  I go through my mental checklist of potential antecedents: how’s my walk with the Lord, have I been in the Word every day, how am I doing as a husband, is anything unusual happening with ministry or my day job, etc.  There’s a few minuscule frustrations, but nothing that I haven’t had the Lord lead me through before so there’s no striking red flags as I ponder and reflect.  Then I think of Psalm 42 verse five, which I had read in my daily devotions about a week ago.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall praise him, my salvation and my God.”

I love how the Word of God reveals to us that we are not the only ones who have faced the adversities and struggles that we do.  The unfortunate reality is that so often times we can become consumed with our problems and don’t have a solid foundation in the Word of God, allowing the flesh and the Devil to work together, creating this illusion that we are isolated. Leading our hearts and minds to believe that our suffering is somehow unique, more extreme, or that no one can understand us.  Anyways, that was a little side-note.

I find myself this morning just saying and thinking those three words that initially answer David’s heart-questioning: “hope in God”.  What does it mean for me to hope in God right now?  What would it look and feel like to rest in the hope of God? I often think in questions. A form of self-interrogation, not sure if it’s the best way to go, but all I know is that it’s helped me get to the bottom of things so far in my life and think deeply about the Truth and how I am called to apply it.

Dictionary.com defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen or a feeling of trust”.  My initial response to that is “a feeling” seems a little shaky to me.  I’m a pretty emotional guy and I know that more often than not, my “feelings” lead me in wrong directions when it comes to difficult situations.  I remember the words of James 17:9.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

So, thanks dictionary.com but I’m not quite satisfied with the idea that David is referring to a “feeling” towards God when he prompts himself to hope.  Hope is something more substantial than emotions, although our emotions are powerful, they lack consistency.  There not something you can really rest in since their always changing, sometimes for no apparent reason at all.  Hence my current dilemma. Now, I think emotions may come alongside hope, but the core of hope is at least founded on Truth.  When we trust in something solid.  Standing on a firm foundation that our very souls find rest upon and are strengthened by.  

Okay then, what truths about God do I need to trust in right now?  Are there any truths that I’m not trusting in or struggling to trust in right now? One thing I’ve come to realize is that every struggle I’ve had in my lifetime has had a theological issue at the core of it.  My battles with sin, depression, fear etc. have all proven to be doubts, misunderstandings or misapplications of who God is and what He’s done.  To dig into the specifics of that is a blog or conversation for another time.  But understand, that’s my perspective as I tackle my predicament.  If there’s an issue, I need to find the theological core of it, because otherwise it’s just addressing the symptoms instead of curing the disease.

There’s two attributes of God that come to mind when I consider things that I need to trust in just to get through my day to day.  The two that are most often doubted or misunderstood when it comes to trusting in them, leading to all kinds of anxiety, frustration, depression etc.  At least that’s what personal experience and the observed experience of others seems to affirm.  

The first attribute is that God is Sovereign.  He sits on the throne over all the universe and He rules with absolute supremacy and authority.  There is no detail in the cosmos that occurs which he is surprised by or does not have dominion over.  God does not anxiously pace around the throne room biting his nails, worried about what’s going to happen and if his plans are going to work.  He is seated, calmly watching his plan unfold exactly as he knew and predetermined.  It’s all part of the plan.  So, as I reflect on my life and the few things that may be frustrating or discouraging, or the times when I feel discontent with the circumstances around me, I need to understand that God is in complete control.  He’s not panicking and repeatedly apologizing while He fails to captain the ship of all existence.  Just because He’s driving it through a storm doesn’t mean God doesn’t have a firm grip on the helm.  But the world and especially those that choose to reject the existence of God will take that theological concept and twist it to say that if God is Sovereign, He must be cruel to allow so much tragedy and pain.  This leads me to the second key attribute: God is gracious.

Now, the common way to say this may be that God is good, but allow me to explain why I prefer the term gracious.  To use the word “good” is to enter into a subjective argument about how we define “good”.  Typically our definitions of “good” are in accordance to what we think is most advantageous for us.  So, in order for God to be good we would have to experience no hardship, pain, loss and only be blessed with success, wealth and the world basically revolving around us.  To say that God is gracious brings it into a different realm of measurement.  It means that God is willing to grant unmerited favor and blessing to Creation, especially to men through the person and work of Jesus Christ.  The common expression around our church body at Journey is that when asked “how are you doing?” we respond, “better than I deserve.”  Now, from the perspective of our American culture which indoctrinates us to believe that we deserve everything good we receive and don’t deserve any negative circumstances or experiences, this seems like a depressing shot to our self-esteem.  However, the more and more I think about it, I absolutely need shots to my self-esteem.  My heart can create a sense of entitlement out of nothing, and a self-centered mentality naturally infests my mind.  I don’t need self-esteem, I need less of me, and the only way to do that is to have more of God as John the Baptist exemplified in John 3:30.  “He (meaning Christ) must increase, but I must decrease.”  That is the fundamental battle at the heart of every single one of us.  The struggle that we naturally desire to magnify ourselves, but don’t realize until its too late that our own selfishness is actually the most destructive force in our lives.  A greater esteem of God not only silences all the anxiety, discontentment, and discouragement that we produce in our own hearts, but it also fulfills the desires of our hearts.  Our longings for security, peace, and joy can only be satisfied by God as we come to the realization that He is the source of the things we fundamentally seek as human beings.  And not only is He capable of this fulfilling work, but He actually promises it.  A verse that my wife and I have clung to for the last few months is Psalm 37:3-4:

“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

The point of that verse is not that we go to God like some kind of genie.  That our prayers or faith are like spiritual rubs of the lamp that compel the Creator to give us all the worldly things that we want.  The promise here is that if we seek and desire God, making Him the desire of our hearts, then we will find that desire fulfilled, and I can attest to the fact that my other desires end up finding their fulfillment in Him as well.  Usually not in the way I expect it, but that’s why Ephesians 3:20 says that God “is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think...”  His ways are not our ways and that’s a good thing.  Because if God only operated in the ways we can understand or anticipate than we would only experience shallow satisfaction instead of the ultimate fulfillment which is being “filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).

I need to encourage my own heart to trust in God’s Sovereignty and graciousness.  Even as I’ve been writing this and meditating on those aspects of who my God is, I find the heaviness of my heart growing lighter.  I can move from the typical downward spiral of listening to myself and begin preaching to myself.  Take my eyes off the broken confusion of emotions and circumstances that make up my life apart from the work of God, and witness a divine glory in the midst of even the most mundane of activities.  And I know that the more and more I embrace who my God is, the more I find my soul able to rest in the Sovereign, gracious presence of my Lord.  His being eclipses my troubles, gives me peace, kindles my joy and grants me a sense of rest despite the reality that my life right now seems burdensome for reasons I don’t even understand yet.  My hope in God leads me to expect that and I love that feeling when your expectations actually prove to be right in the end.  Like when you predict the twist at the end of your favorite TV show, only better.  This time, we can predict the ending of our struggles based on promises we’ve received and the sweetness we experience when they are fulfilled makes everything else a pale comparison.

Overcoming Our Resistance to Repentance

             Repentance...a word that makes the average person cringe in some way.  There are so many negative implications assumed by the mind based on terrible “religious experiences” or misrepresentations of what the call of Christ actually is.  My thoughts keep reflecting back on this concept of repentance and why we naturally resist it.  The thing is that if we read the Bible, it’s not very difficult to see that repentance plays a significant role in the life of a Christian.  One of the most famous acknowledgments of this was made by Martin Luther (founder of the Reformation) in the first of his ninety-five theses.

“Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent’, He willed that the entire life of a believer to be one of repentance.”

            If we follow this train of thought, not only is repentance an important part of the life of a Christian but it is a work that is ongoing.  A consistent progression of turning away from sin and turning towards the likeness of Christ is the call of every single Christian.  We don’t just repent once, we don’t arrive one day (before glorification in heaven) able to rightly say, there’s nothing that I need to repent from today.  On the contrary, it’s a daily call that we receive from the Word of God.  Take a look at Romans chapter six.  I’m going to just highlight a few verses for the sake of time but I encourage you to read the whole chapter, from beginning to end.

Romans 6:4, 12-14

“We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life...Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.  Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.  For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

            Now, I could do a multiple blog series addressing the typical barriers to the work of repentance, turning from “death to life”, but allow me to just highlight two truths from this passage that we need to understand in order to gain a proper perspective of the naturally intimidating call of the scriptures to repent and I pray, they will empower us to move forward in fulfilling that call.

Truth #1: We died to sin with Christ

            Paul in this part of his letter to the Romans makes it very clear that as Christians, we are unified with Christ through the work of His death on the cross.  So it’s important we understand what the death of Jesus accomplished.  A lot of things were accomplished by the death of our Savior, but this truth emphasizes that the “dominion of sin” was overthrown.  To put it as simply as I know how, we are freed from sin.  Because of what Christ did on the cross, we can never be in a situation, due to our personality, circumstances or temptations, where we “can’t help” but sin.

            Now, there are two sides to this.  First, we can’t blame anyone else but ourselves when we sin, because God in His grace has put us in a situation where we are without excuse.

1 Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Secondly, we don’t have to sin.  The same power that Christ had to resist temptation is now available to us.  That power is the Holy Spirit which dwelt within Christ and, for those of us who have received Christ as Lord and Savior, it dwells within us, too.  Now, hear me out, this does not mean that we do not wage a daily battle against our flesh and the temptation to sin; it DOES mean that it’s a battle we can win, and we are called to embrace the victory we have in Christ.

Truth #2: We are alive to God

            An important thing to keep in mind is that the goal of repentance is not just to abstain from sinning.  The turning away from sin is only half of the battle; then we need to replace that “old-self” and its practices with something new.  Fortunately, in the same way that we are united with Christ in His death to sin, we are also united with Him in His resurrection into “newness of life”.

            Imagine a life of true liberty, where our lives are no longer dominated by impulses which lead us into things that we know are destructive or, at least, are not the best thing for us.  Visualize a life where we have the strength and wisdom to live as we know we should, and to be able to experience the joy that comes with living life as God intended it to be.  That’s the life that Jesus lived, and we may not necessarily believe it, but that’s the “newness of life” that we are offered through Christ.  Everything we need to live for God, to fulfill His call for us and to overcome the lingering presence of temptation and sin is already at the disposal of those who are in Christ.  That’s why Paul’s plea in many of his letters is for Christians to live in accordance to the truth that they know, to embrace who they really are, and live out their true identity as they are led by Christ and fueled by the Holy Spirit.

            By the grace of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit, we have the ability to not just stop sinning, but to live in righteousness and to be like Christ.  This is not a pep-talk in order to inspire self-improvement but a message for us as Christians to open up our eyes and truly see what we are called to do and that it is possible.  It is possible to break free of the addictions that enslave us.  It is possible to be transformed into someone who doesn’t commit the same sins over and over again.  It is possible to have self-control over the aspects of our personality that seem to make us more susceptible to certain sinful acts or attitudes.  But I want to make it clear: This is not possible by our own strength, effort, or will-power.  It is only by the grace of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the work of Christ that frees us from our bondage to sin and leads us to embrace our identity as children of promise.

            I know a lot of times we are fearful of repentance because we are afraid that if we admit our need to repent, it means that we are “bad” Christians.  However, I want to encourage all of us in closing.  The presence of repentance in the life of a believer is a far more faithful display of Christianity than putting on our “Sunday-best” persona, minimizing, justifying or ignoring our sin and pretending to be people that do not have that far to go in our pursuit of becoming like Christ.  I know it doesn’t take a whole lot of personal reflection to realize that I fall far short of the mark that Jesus’ holy life calls us to imitate.  But I cling to the promise of Romans chapter eight verse one:

            “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

I hold onto the freedom of that truth, which pushes me to strive to be like Jesus. I know that no man can shame or judge me because the one being who can (God) does not condemn me even though my sin is a horrific failure by His standards.  But since I am united with Christ in His victory over sin, my life is a matter of unlocking the greater joys found in following the footsteps of my Savior as He progressively makes me more and more like Himself, one act of repentance at a time, with each one unveiling new glories.

Three Prayers

Our nation is the self-proclaimed “land of the free”

Personal liberty is raised to a level of vital necessity

Yet the ironic reality is that we are enslaved from birth

Not by tyranny, but by our own nature

Our hearts are shackled, our minds wrapped in chains

We believe we live as we choose, but such is a delusion

We are captives of our destructive impulses, endlessly striving

True freedom is found only in Jesus

Not government policy or uncensored expression

But our hearts easily grow accustomed to our captivity

Ignorantly we consider the bondage of our souls as “home”

So even when offered escape

Lead by the Savior to promised lands of joy and fullness

We easily retreat from glorious freedom back to our self-inflicted slavery

         

God, show us how to walk in freedom

In a world where philosophy and perspective change like the weather

Truth seems like a distant star

One reached for, but never grasped

So we resort to subjectivity

Where “truth” is bent to our will

Whoever claims to know absolute truth is deemed an arrogant fool

To declare something as authoritative is diagnosed as narrow mindedness

But if we follow these tides of thought

We will find ourselves tossed to and fro

Like a rubber duck in a tempest

We have been carried to solid ground

Given a firm foundation that has stood the test of time

May we not dwell in the sinking, ever-shifting sands

         

God, help us to trust in Your Word

We are excitable people

Possessions, politics or even entertainment provoke intense emotion

We devote our lives to such things, as if they were the noblest of callings

Conjuring convictions that seem to take root in the very depths of our being

Matters that in honest assessment prove trivial

While a cause of eternal significance calls us from the cross

An eternal destiny revealed in humbling grandeur

Do the fires of passion burn within us for such a call?

A call to come and die to ourselves

That we might experience abundant life in our Lord

Making every step we take embroidered in glory

No greater path can man tread as the one blazed by the Christ

May the name of Jesus run through our veins

And may we bleed the Gospel when our souls are pricked        

God, give us a zeal for Your purpose

Developing Discerning Sons & Daughters

by John Lohman, Pastor of Family Life and Counseling

Educators report that their students, in an effort to defend untenable positions, often insist:  “It’s just my opinion.  One opinion is as good as another.”  Such statements are a common everyday occurrence in classrooms across our land.  Educators and school administrators are rightfully concerned.  

Statements like these are being heard in public and parochial school classrooms, as well as in the Christian education wings and classrooms of our churches.  

Statements such as these are a reflection of the secular mentality which mistakenly holds to the relativity of truth and denies the possibility of certainty.  Additionally, these statements can also be a sign of underdeveloped critical listening, viewing, and thinking skills – a limitation which can leave a young person vulnerable and at risk.  

The seventeenth chapter of the book of Acts underscores the importance of developing a discerning and discriminating approach to listening, viewing, and taking in information.  While the people of the city of Berea listened to Paul preach, they utilized their evaluative listening skills in order to strain out and separate error from truth.  Most importantly, their constructively critical approach to listening was informed by the absolute truth of God as contained with the Word of God.

How might parents help their sons and daughters further develop and sharpen their critical thinking skills and thus become more discerning?  Let me offer a few suggestions:

• After viewing a television program with your children, discuss some thought-provoking evaluative questions.  
• At dinner, ask your son or daughter to tell you about a class lecture or section read in a text.  Discuss and evaluate it.  
• Ask for your daughter’s or son’s opinion of the message of the lyrics of a song just heard over the radio while driving in the car.  Discuss together values, lifestyle, philosophy, morals.  
• Rent a Christian or non-Christian movie and evaluate it together.
• Evaluate a television commercial together.  (One network aired a Saturday morning children’s program which dealt with the importance of being a discerning viewer.)

P.S.  Facilitating dialogue rather than preaching sermons will be a key to creating an atmosphere where open communication will be likely to take place.

The Reality of Hell: Revealing the Justice and Grace of God

This week I have the daunting task of teaching on the myths and realities of hell to our youth group as we wrap up our series on apologetics.  Not exactly my favorite topic to teach on, to say the least.  To be honest, it’s my least favorite; it’s not fun. However it is a reality that the Bible presents, and therefore it is necessary to teach it biblically.  As I’ve been studying and preparing the lesson, a growing weight has been upon my heart:  A sadness and sense of urgency for the lost and those who might know of Christ but don’t really know Christ in a saving relationship.  The writings of Wayne Grudem describe the emotional flurry of this: 

“What are we to think of this doctrine? It is hard-and it should be hard-for us to think of this doctrine today.  If our hearts are never moved with deep sorrow when we contemplate this doctrine, then there is a serious deficiency in our spiritual and emotional sensibilities.  When Paul thinks of the lostness of his kinsmen the Jews, he says, “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.” (Romans 9:12).

The specific question I’m supposed to address is whether or not Hell is God’s “torture chamber”.   Depending on how we answer that question it makes some implications about God’s character.  First, let me just clarify that to describe Hell as God’s torture chamber is inaccurate because it does not function as a place for God to experiment with ways to cause increased pain and suffering.  That’s NOT who God is.  However, I know the typical cultural response to the reality of Hell is that, if it’s real, then God must be mean or cruel.  I understand the train of thought that leads to this conclusion, but there are two things that such a thought process does not take into account: one, a concept of justice and two, the underlying grace of God.

Let me tackle the issue of justice with a story.  When I was a kid, I was definitely on the rambunctious side of the spectrum when it came to childhood personalities.  My parents had a very clear set of rules and consequences if my siblings and I broke those rules.  One rule was that we were not to use “bad words” a.k.a. swear words.  Before it ever happened, my parents explained that if we ever used any “bad words” we would have our mouths washed out with soap - a common disciplinary action for those that take disciplinary actions against such things. And looking back, I have to agree that the punishment fit the crime.  So, one time, when I was younger (somewhere between the age of 6 and 10) I became upset about something – with my childhood record, it could have been anything.  But, in my anger I swore, and my parents definitely heard me.  Now, I may not remember all the details of what lead up to this event, but I remember what happened afterwards - vividly.  My mom walked over to me and calmly said, “Jacob, you know what you did and you know what we have to do now.”  At that point the water works and pleas for mercy began.  My mother again, very calmly, prompted me to go into the kitchen with her and stand by the sink.  While crying profusely, I obeyed, knowing that I did not want to make the situation any worse.  She turned on the faucet, grabbed the sponge and the dish soap.  We had one of those two sided sponges with the yellow fluffy side and then the green “scratchy” side for those real sticky blemishes.  Mom turned the sponge over so the green side faced up.  Then she squeezed one small stripe of soap across the coarse surface, about an inch long, but man, did it feel like a mile.  She rubbed it in with her thumb until it started to form all those little suds which, at that moment, became the most terrifying thing on the planet.  Mom in a soft, yet stern voice said, “Open your mouth please.”  Amidst the sobbing, I obeyed and stuck my tongue out as far as I could, hoping that it would somehow make it less awful.  My sentence was carried out.  Realistically it lasted about ten seconds, but looking back now, it seemed like days.  Now in our culture today there are plenty of people who would say that such a course of action was mean.  But even as the one who was punished, when I look back I can’t justify declaring my mother to be cruel in that situation.  She specifically told me what was right, what was wrong and what consequences there were for doing wrong.  So, therefore my conclusion has to be that mom wasn’t being mean, she was being just. And regardless of where you may stand on the conservative to liberal spectrum of political philosophy, justice is something we all value and is crucial in order for our society to function with any measure of peace.  If our government neither clearly explained the law, nor enforced it, just imagine the chaos that would ensue.  Sure, there are issues where the punishment in certain situations may not fit the crime, and regardless of justice, people still choose to live in a way that goes against the law.  But the justice system is something we need.  At its core it is good and necessary.

So if God has clearly told us what is right, wrong and what the consequences of doing wrong are by giving us the Bible, can we call God “cruel” or “mean” for fulfilling the standard of justice that he has set in place?  Now, I understand that there is more to this argument than that, but I’d rather not write a thirty page term paper today.

The second thing that my preparations have led me to reflect on is that the reality of Hell actually reveals the grace of God presently.  Just stay with me here and take a look at 2 Peter 3:9-10:

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

In this whole chapter Peter is talking about “judgment day” or the “day of the Lord”; a day that the Lord has promised will come, and, although there are no specifics in terms of when this will happen, there are a lot of specifics about what will happen.  God is going to complete His final act of justice, leading His people to the eternal Promised Land, doing away with sin, death, the devil and all the sufferings of the world as we know it. This will be a day that is both glorious and terrifying.  But here’s the deal:  God is waiting, holding back the reigns of that final act of justice, so that more hearts will turn to Him and be saved.  I know a lot of times, within the Church, there is a longing for that day to come.   I understand this and look forward to that day with hope, but if I’m honest, I don’t want Him to come back yet.  There are still so many of my friends, family, youth, co-workers, and perhaps some of you reading this who don’t yet know Him.  And I know that if Christ were to come back, they (and perhaps you) would be on the other side of God’s justice.  That’s the great “sorrow and unceasing anguish” Paul is talking about in Romans 9:12.  And even though this same sorrow grips my heart, I do not feel led to accuse God of cruelty, but instead to thank Him for being a God of justice (which is necessary for there to be peace) who has graciously waited for me, and is still waiting, that more of those I know and love might be saved.

20 Quotables

One of my hobbies is to collect inspirational, biblically-driven quotes that express truth in a sentence or two. Twitter has its weaknesses but it also has produced a treasure trove of winsome quotes that express and apply biblical truth. Below are 20 quotes from hundreds I possess that I hope will encourage and challenge you.

1. "We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God." AW Tozer

2. "When life overwhelms us we worry. When God overwhelms us we worship."  Ryan Huguley

3. "We don't need more of Jesus, we need less of self. We already have all of Jesus." Burk Parsons

4. "It is impossible to understand a culture without discerning its idols." Tim Keller

5. "Death is gain only when when to live is Christ." Burk Parsons

6. "Pride is the carbon monoxide of sin. It silently and slowly kills you without you even knowing it."  Tim Keller

7. "Those hands that keep a million worlds from spinning into oblivion were nailed motionless to a cross." Elizabeth Elliot

8 "Faith is quenching the soul's thirst at the fountain of God." John Piper

9. "Jesus is better than anything prosperity can give, or anything that suffering can take." Matt Papa

10. "The worst thing about sin is that it is against God. It killed Jesus. Whenever we sin we throw blood on his face." Stephen Charnock

11. "Guard your thoughts and there will be little fear about your actions."  JC Ryle

12. "The gospel is God covering his naked enemies, bringing them to the wedding feast, and then marrying them rather than crushing them."  Ed Welch

13. "Your contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary." Jonathan Edwards

14. "Putting others down is a cheap way of lifting yourself up." Kevin DeYoung

15. "Self-sufficiency is Satan's net." CH Spurgeon

16. "Satan wants to destroy our faith in God. God wants to destroy our faith in ourselves." John Kimbell

17. "As long as I am focusing on the faults of others, then I don't have to face my own." Tullian Tchidvijian

18. "Each person, in his own way, fondly nurses an entire kingdom in his heart." John Calvin

19. "There is no panic in heaven. God has no problems only plans." Corrie Ten Boom

20. "I'm not afraid of failure, I'm afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter." William Carey

Grace and Peace to you,

              Barry

Gaining Ground Without Making Headway

by John Lohman

Pastor of Family Life and Counseling

Arctic explorer Admiral Peary, while in the polar region, once traveled all day by dog-sled toward the north.  He traveled with speed that day, but at day’s end, when he checked his bearings to determine his latitude, he discovered he was even farther south than when he originally started out that morning!  All day long Peary and his dogs had been giving it their all, running as fast as they could.  Unfortunately, they were on an ice floe driven south by the ocean’s current.

Sad to say, Peary’s misfortune is disturbingly familiar to the American family and society.  As the American family finds itself living in the 21^st century, it sometimes seems to be on an ice floe; the family is gaining ground without making headway.

Compared to past decades, many of today’s families are:

• looking better, yet feeling worse.
• living in nicer houses, yet struggling to make them a home.
• earning more, yet enjoying it less.
• filling life with entertainment, electronics and ceaseless activity, yet fighting off inner boredom and emptiness.
• benefitting from medical advancements, yet suffering from moral sickness.
• eating healthier, yet pursuing “the new gluttony”, e.g., lust after travel, drugs, exotic tastes, sights, sounds, and daring extreme sports experiences  that trigger an adrenalin high.

What can families do to get off the ice floe?  Keep the big picture in focus – the overall scheme of things.  Jesus once asked, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”  In the overall scheme of things, we can progress physically, emotionally, socially, materially and intellectually; but if we ignore the spiritual dimension of life, we will continue traveling on the ice floe, gaining ground yet failing to make headway.

As we begin a new year, I invite you to determine in your heart of hearts to pursue whole person growth and godliness rather than drift south on the current of life.