The Flash of Faith, The Thunder of Works

We have an annual ritual in our house. Typically every spring, during the height of the storm season, this ritual occurs about one to two times per week, usually in the late evening. It begins with a bolt of lightning. Upon seeing a flash through the window, the countdown begins. "One one-thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand, four one-thousand." Sound can travel approximately one mile in five seconds, so if the rumble of the thunder that inevitably follows that flash occurs before our count gets to five one-thousand, we know we have about five minutes to accomplish the final phase of our ritual; what I like to call "the great unplugging." We rush around the house disconnecting the power to everything from computers to cable television that might potentially be fried by a direct lightning strike to our house.

In Ephesians 2:8-10 we read "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

With all of the angst in the Christian world about the relationship between faith and works, I think we'd all do good to learn a lesson from nature.

The relationship of that flash of light to the thunder that follows is reliable and predictable. No one questions which comes first, or whether one can exist without the other. The lightning always comes first, and the thunder inevitably follows.

Paul very clearly teaches that, when it comes to salvation, it's the lightning flash of faith that saves us. Even in our best state we are altogether nothing. There is nothing that you and I can do, no degree of obedience, that can make us worthy of salvation. Our own attempts to be righteous are as filthy rags. It's God who gets the glory for our salvation, not us.

Continuing in verse 10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Do you hear the thunder?

While it is true that good works cannot produce salvation they cannot be separated from the faith that does. Obedience is the fruit of a life that has been saved by Faith. They are product of a changed heart and mind. Obedience doesn't save us, but it does reflect the fact that we have been saved. In contrast, if our hearts aren't set toward obeying Him, this is evidence that we never really accepted Him by Faith in the first place. There can be no thunder without the flash of lightning.

So how does that truth affect our Christian walk?

We all are familiar with the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was busy working and preparing in the kitchen while Mary, at least it seemed to Martha, was being lazy, just sitting at the Master's feet.

When Martha basically asked Jesus to tell Mary to get off her butt and start working, Jesus replied, "Martha, Martha, you are careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Jesus wasn't condoning laziness. Far from it. He was simply providing us a lesson in spiritual focus. Martha thought her worthiness came from working and serving. If she did enough work, then her Master would accept her.

Mary though, rather than striving to prove her worthiness to God, focused instead on developing her relationship with Him.

She understood that the key to her spiritual growth lay in seeking to put more of Him into her heart and mind. The more she trusted in Him, looked to Him, came to Him in Faith, the greater His power would be in her to resist sin and overcome this world.

To put it simply. Mary understood that the thunder of works follows the lightening of faith.

While Philippians 2 clearly commands you and I to "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling",
in order to do that we must understand how that work gets accomplished. Paul, in the very next verse, provides the answer.

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

It's the lightning flash of faith, bringing us into relationship with Him, that allows His Spirit to produce within us the rolling thunder of obedience.

The take away?

The degree to which you and I am overcome is directly equivalent to the degree that we are growing in relationship with Him.  Inversely, if we are not growing, not overcoming, it's an indicator, not of a need to simply "try harder", but rather to "draw closer." The closer we are to Him, the more time put into growing that relationship through prayer, meditation and drinking in of His Word, the more strength we draw to help in our times of need.  How awesome is it to know that it is not my feeble effort, but His power, His mercy, His strength that helps me to stand!

Thunder follows lightning as works follow Faith. It's a physical law that mirrors a wonderful spiritual reality.

Christians Satan Loves - Pt I

I awoke this Sabbath morning to the rumble of thunder and the drum beat of rain on our bedroom window. As I lay there enjoying the sounds of nature it struck me that something was missing from this scenario. Years ago, when our children were little, storms, especially violent ones, would have sent one or both of our children scurrying down the hall to crawl into bed seeking refuge. At that age a loud clap of thunder and lightening, a bad dream, a mysterious noise or a strange shadow on the wall were enough to propel them out of bed and straight to our door.

I remember one night, when Courtney was around eight, that she came running to our room more frightened than usual. Apparently some kids had told a particularly scary ghost story on the bus on the way home from school.  She was convinced that ghost had taken up residence in her bedroom. As any father would, I spent the next fifteen minutes peering into every dark corner, investigating every possible hiding place to reassure her that there was nothing to fear, that ghosts aren't real, and that it was simply her imagination running out of control.

Over the next few days her mother and I also used the opportunity to talk to both of our kids about the concept of evil and the spirit world. Now it’s touchy to follow up a conversation about imaginary ghosts with a conversation about the spirit world which, of course, is very real. We certainly didn’t want to make the problem worse, but we did feel it important for them to know the difference. We wanted them to understand the things they should be wary of versus those things that are merely superstition, based on irrational fear.

As adults, you and I have grown beyond irrational fears.  Although we know there is a spirit world, we also know there are not ghosts in the closet or evil monsters under the bed. There might be some pretty nasty smelling socks, but not evil monsters.

However, there are some Christians who do seem to spend an inordinate amount of time consumed with irrational fears about the the spirit world and the influence of the Devil. These are the Christians who blame Satan for every mistake and every bad thing that happens in their lives. They are constantly searching for signs of his influence around every corner and under every rock.

It probably won’t come as a surprise that Satan is not at all displeased to get the attention. He loves Christians that allow him center stage. He is in the business of attempting to usurp God’s power in our lives. He couldn’t take over God's throne by force long ago but he is still trying to do it in other ways. He does all he can to deceive us into believing that he has more influence, more power than he really has over the life of a Christian. To the degree he is able to shift our attention away from confidence in God's love, God's protection and toward an inordinate fear of him and his power, he is successful.

Why?  Well, if we are constantly focused on the enemy, worried about the evil that might befall us, we will never have the courage to take risks. The times in our lives when we should be stepping out in faith we will instead be holding back in fear. Our inordinate focus on the enemy will immobilize us and make us ineffective tools in God's hands. And that's just where the enemy wants us.

James 4:7 - 8 tells us “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

In I John 4:18 we read, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love."

If you are one of those Christians that tends to look back over your shoulder a little too much; worried about Satan getting the upper hand; consumed by what influence the enemy has over you; inordinately fearful of falling into the traps he sets, you are really only running from shadows on the wall and bumps in the night. You are giving Satan way more attention than he deserves.

Should we be wary of Satan’s deception? Should we strive to resist him? Yes, of course. But the most effective resistance is not letting ourselves be sucked into Satan's vortex of fear and doubt but, rather, as James tells us, to "draw near to God." If we learn to focus confidently ahead on our God and His promises of protection, His promises of strength in time of need, and His promise to finish the work that He has begun in us, Satan cannot touch us.  By surrounding ourselves with the reality of God's love, all inordinate fear is cast out.

It’s been quite a while since either of our children have come scurrying down the hall to our room. Now that they are older, and braver, these visits are a thing of the past. It takes more than just a little shadow on the wall to spook them, which is a good thing, since at fifteen and eighteen they would now take up a quite a bit more real estate on our bed than they once did. As a parent, it's nice to see our children outgrowing their fear and growing in confidence. I'm sure it pleases our God when we do the same.

Real Christians Enjoy Mogan David

I'm by no means a wine connoisseur. I'm the guy that, in my twenties and early thirties, believed White Zinfandel to be a fine wine. You can hardly fault me. Prior to that, my exposure to wine had been limited to the occasional swallow of watered down Mogan David in a small paper cup, a treat usually reserved for special occasions such as the Night to Be Much Observed or at the Feast of Tabernacles. I think our church should have owned stock in the stuff. That said, for me, White Zinfandel was definitely a step up.

As I've grown older my wine palate has matured somewhat. I've graduated into an appreciation for the Pinot Grigio's, the Merlot's and Cabernet Sauvignon's of the world. Although far from an aficionado, I've not only developed a taste for different types of wine but an interest in the subject of wine itself. That is why a blog post I came across recently caught my attention.

In an entry titled The Subjectivity of Wine, posted in his blog The Frontal Cortex, Jonah Lehrer recounts the details of a wine tasting experiment that was conducted in 2001. The results were intriguing. Lehrer writes, "In 2001, Frederic Brochet, of the University of Bordeaux, conducted two separate and very mischievous experiments. In the first test, Brochet invited 57 wine experts and asked them to give their impressions of what looked like two glasses of red and white wine. The wines were actually the same white wine, one of which had been tinted red with food coloring. But that didn't stop the experts from describing the "red" wine in language typically used to describe red wines. One expert praised its "jamminess," while another enjoyed its "crushed red fruit." Not a single one noticed it was actually a white wine."

Lehrer continues, "The second test Brochet conducted was even more damning. He took a middling Bordeaux and served it in two different bottles. One bottle was a fancy grand-cru. The other bottle was an ordinary vin du table. Despite the fact that they were actually being served the exact same wine, the experts gave the differently labeled bottles nearly opposite ratings. The grand cru was 'agreeable, woody, complex, balanced and rounded,' while the vin du table was 'weak, short, light, flat and faulty'. Forty experts said the wine with the fancy label was worth drinking, while only twelve said the cheap wine was."

My conclusion upon reading this?

1. My affinity for Trader Joe's "two buck chuck" maybe isn't all that crazy after all, and 
2. How easily duped we are by what we see on the label.

Jesus spent a lot of time while on this earth condemning those who, from a spiritual perspective, were wrapped up in the externals.

The Pharisees spent a great deal of time focusing on externals. Jesus wasn't too kind to them. In fact, He went to great lengths not just to condemn their shallow, skin deep religion, but to model the complete opposite. In many ways His ministry on earth was a study in contrasts between a religion focused on the outside and one focused on the inside.

While the pharisees made wide their phylacteries and enlarged the borders of their garments in order to set themselves apart as the spiritual leaders of the people, Jesus sought out a man dressed in camel's hair and leather belt.

While the pharisees loved the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, Jesus purposely let it be known that the Son of Man had no place to rest His head.

While the Pharisees chose to hang with the who's who of their day, Jesus hung out with sinners, tax collector's and publican's, those considered the dregs of society.

In Matthew 23, Jesus, condemning their shallow, external religion, says "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within you are full of extortion and excess. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

Before we shake our heads in disgust at the wickedness of the Pharisees, it's important to remember that there is the potential for a little Pharisee in all of us. If there wasn't, God wouldn't have seen fit to devote so much attention in His Word to the contrast.

Someone recently shared with me the story of a couple who lost their luggage one year en route to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. Showing up to services for the first few days, wearing basically their travel clothes, they were shocked by the disapproving glances and judgmental stares they received from the brethren. These poor believers, because they didn't look the part, were made to feel like outcasts in a sea of dark suits and dresses.

Our human nature's proclivity for judging based on the externals isn't limited only to clothing. How easy is it for us to put labels on the man on whose breath we sense the faint smell of cigarette smoke or alcohol, while embracing the guy who may be cheating on his taxes or, worse yet, his spouse? Both men might be struggling and striving to overcome their weakness, but we are quick to judge the one before the other based on what we see. We make judgments about what's in the bottle based purely on the label.

In I Samuel 16:17 God instructs Samuel, to whom He had given the task of searching out a King to rule Israel, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart."

To summarize: God isn't impressed with what's on the label. He's all about what's on the inside of the bottle.

I don't think my palate nor my pocketbook will ever allow me to appreciate the difference between a quality aged wine and the two buck chuck I enjoy from my local Trader Joe's. Based on the results of that wine tasting experiment, I take consolation in the knowledge that it probably doesn't really matter. If what's in my glass tastes like fine wine, that's good enough for me. 

God grant me the spiritual depth and maturity to see my brothers and sisters in Christ the same way.

The Gospel According to Angry Birds

My name is Tony and I am an addict.  I admit it. I love Angry Birds.

From the moment my daughter sat next to me on the couch one evening last winter and said, "Dad, you've got to try this new game. It's awesome!" I was hooked. I just couldn't get enough of sling-shotting those little angry birds through the air to destroy whatever impregnable pig fortress stood in their way.  The other night, my wife came over to where I was sitting at my lap top,  and asked, "what are you working on so intently? Something for work? A new blog post?" I sheepishly looked up at her and mumbled, "...uhh...Angry Birds."

I think what appeals to me most about the game is it's simplicity. It hearkens back to a simpler time.  I grew up in the day when video games typically had two controls, a joystick to maneuver and a button to fire. Packman, Tron, Tanks, Pong, Centipede. These were the games of my youth. These are the games I mastered.  Unfortunately, they are old school now. They've gone the way of eight track tapes and record players.

Sure, I've tried playing the new-fangled games with my teenage son. He just laughs at me. By the time I figure out which of the the umpteen buttons or knobs to push, each performing different functions depending on the order or combination in which they are supposed to be manipulated...it's too late, I'm toast. It's way too overwhelming and confusing for my forty-five year old brain to handle.

In II Corinthians 11:3 Paul tells the Corinthian brethren, "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

Paul was warning the Corinthian brethren about becoming confused by false teachers coming among them seeking to complicate the simple message of the Gospel.  These teachers were trying to persuade the brethren of the necessity of mastering a bunch of unneeded rules and a bunch of different knobs and buttons while ignoring the one button that was most important to "winning."  As a result the brethren were becoming confused and frustrated.

A few weeks ago, on Pentecost weekend, I sat next to a lady on a three hour flight to Dallas. When she learned during the course of polite conversation that I was travelling to speak at a church congregation in Big Sandy her eyes lit up. "I attend a church not too far from there in Gladewater," she said.  "What are you speaking about?"  While I was tempted to launch into a dissertation on the meaning of Pentecost and it's relationship to the Spring and Fall harvests, I chose another tack.  "I'll be speaking about the importance of letting Jesus Christ live His life within us."  "Oh!", she said excitedly, "That's wonderful! I'm reading a book on that very topic..." and off we went talking for the next two hours about our shared belief in Christ. We talked about faith. We talked about the importance of walking the walk, not just talking the talk. She was a Sunday school teacher so we talked a great deal about how critical it is to teach children a love for God and His way of life. Then, with a tear forming in her eye, she began sharing with me the ache in her heart for some of those children she had witnessed grow up and wander away from the faith and her deep concern that they will be condemned to a future in hell. It was then and only then that I began to share with her the hope of the resurrection and God's plan as revealed by the Holy Days.

I feel it's important to mention that  I have no reason at all to brag.  Although I'm sharing one of my few successes, there have been many more opportunities that I've botched miserably. Times when someone merely asking, "so why do you attend church on Saturday?" caused me to excitedly launch into a treatise on everything from the influence of Constantine on the doctrines of the Church to the prophesied ultimate destruction of the beast in the bottomless pit. Can you say "over the top?"

I think all of us who are passionately convicted about the things that we feel have been lost by so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ would do well to remember Paul's example. 

In I Corinthians 2 he writes, "And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

At the risk of overdoing an analogy, Paul is basically saying that he refused to get lost in all these complicated buttons and knobs on the controller. Though he had mountains of knowledge and years of experience to share, that's not where He started. Instead, he kept it simple. In his sharing of the gospel, he focused on the majors, not on the minors.  In doing so he let people be drawn to the clear, pure core message of the Gospel, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Nothing else has any meaning, any relevance, aside from that. 

How much more effective would our witness be if we adopted Paul's approach? If, when presented with an opportunity to share, we'd step back, take a breath, set aside for a moment all of those tempting buttons and knobs, and lead with the one button that really matters, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 

It's not an easy principle to keep in mind, especially when your in the heat of the moment and your bursting at the seams with excitement and passion for the truth.  If there were only something to always keep us reminded of that simple principle.

Hmm...anyone for a game of Angry Birds?

"Stop Your Whining!" ~ God

We Christians do a lot of whining.

As I write this, understand that I have one finger pointing out and three pointing back at me.  We whine to God about so many things big and little.

It's not as if we whine like spoiled little children.  "Wahhh, that's not fair!" "Wahhh, I want that toy! Give me that toy!"  We know that wouldn't fly with God.  So, our whining is more refined, more . . . spiritual. "Please most powerful high benevolent God . . ."  or "Oh merciful Father, who knows all of our needs and answers all of our prayers, please . . ." and then we proceed to pour out our litany of requests and petitions.

Its not that asking God to provide for us is a bad thing. If it were, we wouldn't be instructed to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."  God wants His children to come to Him with their physical needs and concerns. But, there is a thin line between asking and whining.

"God, why do you allow our family to keep struggling financially?"   "Why did you let my children abandon their faith?" "Why can't you give me the perfect church to attend?" "Why can't you change my husband or my wife?" In short, "Wahhh . . . I follow you, why aren't you blessing me?"

When we question God, aren't we really questioning whether He loves us? After all, if He really loved us, He would take care of all of the problems in our lives, wouldn't He?

Thus, we measure whether God really loves us by how He provides for our well being.  God becomes a kind of magic "genie in a bottle."   If we rub that magic bottle by doing all the right things and obeying in every way, God will fulfill all our heart's desires. We get so focused on all the things we don't have that we forget the one huge thing we do.

The children of Israel spent a lot of time questioning God's love. From the day they were delivered from Egypt, their voices were a constant stream of whining and complaining.   It started with their sojourn in the wilderness and didn't let up, even after entering the promised land.

God addresses their whining in Malachi 1: 1- 3, "The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, says the LORD. Yet you say, wherein have You loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? says the LORD:  yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.”

Notice how God cuts to the chase here.  He doesn't waste time addressing their litany of complaints and unmet requests.  He gets to the heart of it.  "You don't think I love you?!  For crying out loud, I chose you! I set My name on you! You are blessed above all the nations. Isn't that enough?!"

In God's words to Israel there is a powerful, perspective changer for you and I.

In John 3:16 we read, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Isn't that amazing! Doesn't that blow your mind? God, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, loves you so much that He sent His Son to die on a cross for you.  He made a way for those He would call to become part of His Family.  He chose you.  He set His name on you.  If you never receive one more thing from God in this life, isn't that enough? 

Apparently Paul thought so.  

In Philippians 4:11 - 12 Paul writes, "Not that I speak in respect of want:  for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:  every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need."

It's not that Paul didn't petition God to provide for his physical and emotional needs.  He did.  But regardless of the outcome of those requests, he didn't question God's love for Him.  He knew he had plenty for which to be thankful and in that knowledge, he was content.

Notice it says that Paul learned these things.  I wouldn't go so far as to say Paul was a whiner.  But it does seem that he didn't always have the right perspective.  It's possible, that at one time, Paul had to learn to see beyond his physical condition, his physical needs and wants, to appreciate the one amazing gift he did possess. 

In II Corinthians 12:7 - 9 Paul says, "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee:   for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

God used this situation, only one of many in Paul's life, to teach Him to be content in the grace that God had provided.  God had redeemed Him.  God had chosen Paul according to His purpose.  God said, "Paul, if you get nothing else from Me, my grace should be enough."

It's that lesson that allowed Paul to declare in Romans 8:18, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." 

I find it encouraging to think that if Paul, a man mightily used by God, can learn to see beyond today to the awesomeness of tomorrow and let that hope be sufficient to sustain, strengthen and drive Him, then maybe there is hope for this whiner. Maybe I can stop treating God like a genie in a bottle and truly give thanks for the awesome grace that I have been given through the loving gift of His Son. And maybe I can truly come to the place where, from my heart, I can say, "your grace is sufficient for me."  It is enough.