Praise God for Richard Dawkins

Writing today in "The Times" Richard Dawkins is on a mission to demonstrate again how stupid Christians are and how superior his own brand of religion (athiesm) is to all the rest. I have to say much of the article I agreed with.  I find it amazing that we Christians actually lack the courage to say what the Bible says. We sometimes go to huge lengths to distance ourselves from very simple and straight forward ideas the Bible has about sin and suffering because we cannot bear the idea that God is actually in control of all the mess, or that he holds us accountable for what we do or even that he subjects the world to these things in the hope of a new world (Romans 8). Somehow to say these things for some Christians is to commit the sin of offending others unnecessarily.  While Dr Dawkins may object to what the Bible says and call it immoral and depraved he at least is willing to admit to the idea that atonement at the cross is the issue.

Where I do slightly disagree with him through is in this:

"Your entire religion is founded on an obsession with “sin”, with punishment and with atonement." 

I object because I am not at all sure we are obsessed with sin,  I think it would be more accurate to say we are obsessed with grace. I admit I think sin is serious and shouldn't be ignored. I admit I think God is going to punish the world on the last day, and yes I do think atonement is central to a correct understanding of the cross... but I am obsessed with grace. Grace is something so unexpected and so un-religious that it blows my mind.  Religion says "be good and God will love you" grace says "God in Christ loves us more than we can know and repentance and faith not good deeds are the key to getting hold of that love."

Blogging with trumpets

It is not difficult to understand what Jesus is getting at in Matthew chapter 6. Three times he condemns religious acts that are done merely for show. He says God hates it when we pray so that other people can see us and give so other people will praise us and fast so other people will applaud us.

When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly

And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do

When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity!

In an age when we are obsessed with getting our message out there and saying things so that people can hear us I wonder if we are doing our blogging and tweeting and podcasting and sermon uploading and so on and so forth "with trumpets".
I am well aware that practically everything we do has mixed motives, and I am also aware that having the wrong motives doesn't mean you should automatically stop doing something. But I feel the temptation in my own heart to do things so that people will say "Isn't he wise" or "Isn't he godly" or alike. It seems like a bit of a slap in the face to Jesus to keep quoting him and using him as an excuse to get ourselves more well known.

Resolutions

Generally I dont like New Year resolutions. Not because I dont think they are a good idea but because I often fail to keep them (like most people) and sometimes wonder if they tend to be an exercise in affirming my own power to change things independant of the gospel. But having said that I so much enjoyed my New Years resolution to read through the Bible in 2009. It was a good goal to set and having done it I find that rather than feel completed and fulfilled I am actually hungry for more. This year Claire and I are going to read through Bible using the McCheyne plan with a little help from Doctor Carson.

My resolution for 2010 is to pray properly each day. What a bizzare confession to make, you would think that a pastor would pray regularly and often but I think like many people I struggle to give proper time to pray each day and end up only firefighting in my prayer life.
As DAC says "If you don't plan to pray you won't pray"
So no more excuses, it's time to knock until my knuckles bleed.

Trying it all

A few observations of things that I observe myself and my friends tempted to find satisfaction in. Please note that because a thing is on the list it is not therefore a bad thing but simply an indication of a good thing becoming a substitute for the best thing.

• Money
• Popularity
• Family
• Computer games
• Shopping
• Sleep
• Sex
• Significance
• Travel
• Excitement
• Academic achievement
• Gadgets
• Orthodoxy
• Tradition
• Ease
• Sport
• TV
• Pepsi Max
• Success
  

Spurgeon says:

“Behold, all is vanity.”

— Ecclesiastes 1:14

Nothing can satisfy the entire man but the Lord’s love and the Lord’s own self. Saints have tried to anchor in other roadsteads, but they have been driven out of such fatal refuges. Solomon, the wisest of men, was permitted to make experiments for us all, and to do for us what we must not dare to do for ourselves. Here is his testimony in his own words: “So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem: also my wisdom remained with me. And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labour: and this was my portion of all my labour. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.” “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” What! the whole of it vanity? O favoured monarch, is there nothing in all thy wealth? Nothing in that wide dominion reaching from the river even to the sea? Nothing in Palmyra’s glorious palaces? Nothing in the house of the forest of Lebanon? In all thy music and dancing, and wine and luxury, is there nothing? “Nothing,” he says, “but weariness of spirit.” This was his verdict when he had trodden the whole round of pleasure. To embrace our Lord Jesus, to dwell in his love, and be fully assured of union with him—this is all in all. Dear reader, you need not try other forms of life in order to see whether they are better than the Christian’s: if you roam the world around, you will see no sights like a sight of the Saviour’s face; if you could have all the comforts of life, if you lost your Saviour, you would be wretched; but if you win Christ, then should you rot in a dungeon, you would find it a paradise; should you live in obscurity, or die with famine, you will yet be satisfied with favour and full of the goodness of the Lord.

Brooks on courage

Phillips Brooks says:

There is another source of power which I can hardly think of as a separate quality, but rather as the sum and result of all the qualities which I have been naming. I mean Courage. It is the indispensable requisite of any true ministry. The timid minister is as bad as the timid surgeon. Courage is good everywhere, but it is necessary here. If you are afraid of men and a slave to their opinion, go and do something else. Go and make shoes to fit them. Go even and paint pictures which you know are bad but which suit their bad taste. But do not keep on all your life preaching sermons which shall say not what God sent you to declare, but what they hire you to say. Be courageous. Be independent.

Augustine on Faith

Augustine says:
"Faith is to believe what we do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what we believe."

I confess I do want to see. I dont want to rush ahead of all the God has in store but the idea of seeing something so spectacular and so mind blowing the Apostle Paul had to be given some trouble to keep him humble after all he had seen makes me excited to see it.

There is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign,
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.
There everlasting spring abides,
And never withering flowers:
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
This heav’nly land from ours.
Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood
Stand dressed in living green:
So to the Jews old Canaan stood,
While Jordan rolled between.
But timorous mortals start and shrink
To cross this narrow sea;
And linger, shivering on the brink,
And fear to launch away.
O could we make our doubts remove,
Those gloomy thoughts that rise,
And see the Canaan that we love
With unbeclouded eyes!
Could we but climb where Moses stood,
And view the landscape o’er,
Not Jordan’s stream, nor death’s cold flood,
Should fright us from the shore.

 I generally dont draw my theology from Lord of the Rings but it may be worth quoting Gandalf at this point:

Pippin: I didn't think it would end this way.
Gandalf: End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path... One that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass... And then you see it.
Pippin: What? Gandalf?... See what?
Gandalf: White shores... and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.
Pippin: [smiling] Well, that isn't so bad.
Gandalf: [softly] No... No it isn't.

Living Simply

While away speaking at David Rushbrooks induction service at the weekend I had 10 hours alone to myself in the car. What a pleasure to find that "Desiring God" by John Piper had been released for free this month and ten hours in the car was an ideal opportunity to hear it.
So many good things came of listening, so many good things to re-think and re-examine. But one of the things that struck me most powerfully was John Piper's comments about money:

Speaking about 2 Timothy 6.

6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that  plunge people into ruin and destruction.

Paul adds the second reason not to pursue wealth: “If we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Christians can be and ought to be content with the simple necessities of life.

I’ll mention three reasons why such simplicity is possible and good.

First, when you have God near you and for you, you don’t need extra money or extra things to give you peace and security.

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5–6)

No matter which way the market is moving, God is always better than gold. Therefore, by God’s help we can be, and we should be content, with the simple
necessities of life.

Second, we can be content with simplicity because the deepest, most satisfying delights God gives us through creation are free gifts from nature and from loving relationships with people. After your basic needs are met, accumulated money begins to diminish your capacity for these pleasures rather than increase them.
Buying things contributes absolutely nothing to the heart’s capacity for joy. There is a deep difference between the temporary thrill of a new toy and a homecoming hug from a devoted friend. Who do you think has the deepest, most satisfying joy in life, the man who pays $240 for a fortieth-floor suite downtown and spends his evenings in the half-lit, smoke-filled lounge impressing strange women with ten-dollar cocktails, or the man who chooses the Motel by a vacant lot of sunflowers and spends his evening watching the sunset and writing a love letter to his wife?

Third, we should be content with the simple necessities of life because we could invest the extra we make for what really counts. For example, the “Annual Statistical Table on Global Mission 2002” by David Barrett and Todd Johnson reports that there are 1,645,685,000 unevangelized people in the world.1 That means 26.5 percent of the world’s population live in people groups that do not have indigenous evangelizing churches. This does not count the third of the world that does live in evangelized peoples but makes no profession of faith. If the unevangelized are to hear—and Christ commands that they hear—then crosscultural missionaries will have to be sent and paid for.

It's worth thinking about; what do I find my delight in? Is it in the things I buy or in the God who is more satisfying than all those things. And am I satisfied with the free things he gives me which are infinitely more valuable than the things I want to spend my money on.

Keller on Repentance

Probably the best thing I have ever read on repentance as a Christian is Tim Keller's sermon called "All of life is repentance". If you are confused about what repentance for a Christian looks like or whether it is even necessary then do read it.


http://download.redeemer.com/pdf/learn/resources/All_of_Life_Is_Repentance-Keller.pdf

I hope it will change the way you think about keeping it real.

Dont let me lie to myself

Going through Psalm 119 over the last few days has reminded me how much passion the Old Testament song writer has for God's word. He obviously loves is and not simply because he is religious and likes religious ideas but rather because the Word of God comes from God. Much like I keep some of the letters that Claire sent me there is a connection with the person through the words. In that way the word of God becomes not merely a communication of ideas but it connects me with him too; it is relational.

Listen to this bit:

Psalm 119

25  I lie in the dust;

revive me by your word.

 26  I told you my plans, and you answered.

Now teach me your decrees.

 27  Help me understand the meaning of your commandments,

and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.

 28  I weep with sorrow;

encourage me by your word.

 29  Keep me from lying to myself;

give me the privilege of knowing your instructions.

 30  I have chosen to be faithful;

I have determined to live by your regulations.

 31  I cling to your laws.

Lord, don’t let me be put to shame!

 32  I will pursue your commands,

for you expand my understanding. 

"keep me from lying to myself"
How do I know if I am lying to myself? How can I know if I am self deceived?
Well, I know that good friends can keep me honest, but how do I know if they have got it right?
I only know one person who knows me completely and is wise and brave enough to say it as it is and that's God. He does say some things in his word that are painful and direct but I love respect him all the more for saying them. The capacity my heart has to lie to itself is staggering, what I need is an injection of realism from the word so that I don't let it pull the wool over my eyes.

He is amazing

This may or may not connect with you but I found the words stirred my heart. You might find that thinking about all of these things lifts Jesus from the two dimensional "cardboard" character that so many picture him as. The truth is that he is more amazing that we can get our heads round.

Colossians  1v15-20

 Christ Is Supreme

15  Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.

He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,*

 16  for through him God created everything

in the heavenly realms and on earth.

He made the things we can see

and the things we can’t see—

such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.

Everything was created through him and for him.

 17  He existed before anything else,

and he holds all creation together.

 18  Christ is also the head of the church,

which is his body.

He is the beginning,

supreme over all who rise from the dead.*

So he is first in everything.

 19  For God in all his fullness

was pleased to live in Christ,

 20  and through him God reconciled

everything to himself.

He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth

by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

Spurgeon on knowing Christ

For me the temptation to let the busyness of church become the thing that drives and consumes me is very real. It is difficult to pursue a proper connected relationship with Christ when I am always thinking about the next thing I need to be doing or the next problem that needs addressing. It seems crazy that being a pastor can sometimes get in the way of being a Christian but I know how easily our hearts and minds are distracted to other things, perhaps worthy things, but distracting when not put in their proper place.

A timely word for Spurgeon this morning helps me to think about what it means to know Christ.

"I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord."—Philippians 3:8.

SPIRITUAL knowledge of Christ will be a personal knowledge. I cannot know Jesus through another person's acquaintance with Him. No, I must know Him myself; I must know Him on my own account. It will be an intelligent knowledge—I must know Him, not as the visionary dreams of Him, but as the Word reveals Him. I must know His natures, divine and human. I must know His offices—His attributes—His works—His shame—His glory. I must meditate upon Him until I "comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." It will be an affectionate knowledge of Him; indeed, if I know Him at all, I must love Him. An ounce of heart knowledge is worth a ton of head learning. Our knowledge of Him will be a satisfying knowledge. When I know my Saviour, my mind will be full to the brim—I shall feel that I have that which my spirit panted after. "This is that bread whereof if a man eat he shall never hunger." At the same time it will be an exciting knowledge; the more I know of my Beloved, the more I shall want to know. The higher I climb the loftier will be the summits which invite my eager footsteps. I shall want the more as I get the more. Like the miser's treasure, my gold will make me covet more. To conclude; this knowledge of Christ Jesus will be a most happy one; in fact, so elevating, that sometimes it will completely bear me up above all trials, and doubts, and sorrows; and it will, while I enjoy it, make me something more than "Man that is born of woman, who is of few days, and full of trouble"; for it will fling about me the immortality of the everliving Saviour, and gird me with the golden girdle of His eternal joy. Come, my soul, sit at Jesus's feet and learn of Him all this day.

Calvin on the heart

Sadly Mike Plant was away this morning so couldn't give the second lecture on Calvin at the Teesocs Plus course. I had the dubious privilege of filling in and came across a great quote from Calvin on the heart that I thought I would share:


"Its like a man who thinks he has made a fox tame, if he lets it alone for even half a day it returns to its kind . Even so it is with us. We are so wild that although it may seem for a time that we are thoroughly brought home to God, and very well reformed; yet in just the turn of a hand it is all forgotten" - J Calvin


I think of friends who have started out following Christ, who have seemed really genuinely changed by the gospel and yet have turned away again and gone back to a lifestyle that denies. It all makes me all too aware of how quickly it can be all turned around. And not only in other people but in my own heart too; how I need Christ to keep control of my heart every moment.

Thoughts of Batman the Dark Knight and "Two-Face" spring to mind. A man who changes from a shining example of bravery and integrity to someone who turns completely the other way. Unlike Two-Face we return to our default position of rebelling against God and going our own way: "wild" in Calvin's words, but like Two-Face the result is horrifying.

Thirsty for something better

Lots of things lately have got me thinking about what I am thirsty for in life. I mean by that what kind of things do I give my time and effort and money to and how far short do they come of what really satisfies. I remember before I became a Christian the feeling of thirst for something that I couldn't quite put my finger on, it was difficult to imagine what could make we feel really full or satisfied. I also remember feeling so completely overwhelmed by what Jesus had done for me and what it meant to know him when I first became a Christian. It really was as if Jesus was filling this massive, insatiable, gaping hole in me.

But funnily enough that feeling doesn't seem to disappear, there are times when we are wandering away from Jesus and we try and fill the hole with anything we can but it just doesn't work. And then we come back and we feel thirsty, starving, even desperate to know him more and better.

The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing. There is such a fulness in Christ that he alone is the believer’s all. The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more—except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain. In that sweet manner, believer, shalt thou thirst; it shall not be a thirst of pain, but of loving desire; thou wilt find it a sweet thing to be panting after a fuller enjoyment of Jesus’ love. One in days of yore said, “I have been sinking my bucket down into the well full often, but now my thirst after Jesus has become so insatiable, that I long to put the well itself to my lips, and drink right on.” Is this the feeling of thine heart now, believer? Dost thou feel that all thy desires are satisfied in Jesus, and that thou hast no want now, but to know more of him, and to have closer fellowship with him? Then come continually to the fountain, and take of the water of life freely. Jesus will never think you take too much, but will ever welcome you, saying, “Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.”
- Spurgeon


The language is intimate, perhaps even a little embarrassing but somehow my own heart responds to it and feels the thirst to know Jesus better.

Honesty

I find it a difficult thing to know how honest I can be with God when I talk to him. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that I want to tell him lies or try and pull the wool over his eyes (as if I could), but rather I just don't always know how to present my complaints to God. I want to be honest about the things I face and the issues that press in on me but I sometimes feel unsure about how to tell God about it.

Reading Numbers 11 yesterday made me think how blunt Moses is with God:

Numbers 11v10-15
¹⁰ Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. ¹¹ He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? ¹² Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? ¹³ Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, 'Give us meat to eat!' ¹⁴ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. ¹⁵ If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own ruin."

It seems like a pretty blunt complaint doesn't it? I have no doubt that Moses didn't say it because he was simply annoyed or hacked off, I guess he comes to God like this because he brings everything to God and so these are the emotions and requests for that moment presented in a real and honest way. I guess that also means that coming to God with some measure of honesty about how we are feeling about a situation is not in itself wrong. I want to be careful not to presume to tell God what to do but I also what to be brave enough to ask for real things rather than offer general wishy-washy prayers that mean very little.

Jesus' encouragement makes my prayers feel too small:


John 16
²³In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. 

Are you getting the idea?

Due to our incredible denseness God speaks some things over and over and over again. Sometimes the symphony of sources that speak the same word is deafening but still we are not listening. I hear it and then dismiss it as just coincidence. I even rebel against the words of encouragement as if I don't deserve them. He speaks and then with unbelievable patience speaks again and then a glimmer of light sneaks into my mind as if someone has just drawn back the curtain an inch to let in a sliver of light. Do we dare open the curtain and really let the light in?

Last night's reading from Isaiah:

Fear not, for I have redeemed you; 43v1
Do not be afraid, for I am with you; 43v5
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, 44v5
Do not tremble, do not be afraid.44v8

Psalm 118 from last night:
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
       his love endures forever.
  Let Israel say:
       "His love endures forever."
  Let the house of Aaron say:
       "His love endures forever."
  Let those who fear the LORD say:
       "His love endures forever."
  In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
       and he answered by setting me free.
  The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.

Reading with Greg last night:
Philippians 1v20

I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 

Philippians 1v27-28
stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way

A mixed up king

Reading the account of Hezekiah over the last few days made me realise again how mixed he was. He finds himself under siege from the army of Sennacherib and does the thing that seems to natural and so right.

Isaiah 37v14-17

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. ¹⁵ And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD : ¹⁶ "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. ¹⁷ Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

For many Christians this has been a great encouragement to bring the things that trouble us and "spread them out before the Lord". In other words I pray and I tell God exactly what it is I am facing and what it is that I need him for. It's not some sort of genie in the lamp moment, but rather the trusting cry for help when everything turns pear shaped. Hezekiah reminds me of me when I am in trouble.

But then at the end of his life he is going to die from some illness and God very kindly extends his life by fifteen years. Another great example of God hearing and answering prayer, but then what does Hezekiah do with it? Well he blows it by putting his trust somewhere other than in God. And then when God confronts him about it and tells him he is going to bring judgement on his descendants he says this:

"The word of the LORD you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime."

I can hardly get my head round it. It seems that Hezekiah is saying "Phew, I'm alright Jack!"
And again that reminds me of me. I pray for help, I ask God for intervention and deliverance and then when I am ok I rejoice no matter what the fallout on other people.
What a mixed up bunch of people we are.



You can read the whole thing here:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2037-39&version=NIV

Fear Vs Terror

Last night we were asking the kids that come to one of our youth groups what they were afraid of. The answers were interesting: spiders (obviously), darkness, dying, adults shouting and so on and so forth. Interestingly when we got home our reading in Isaiah 33 had two verses that talked about fear but spoke about it in two very different ways.

 ⁵ The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high;
       he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
 ⁶ He will be the sure foundation for your times,
       a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
       the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.

Fear in that context means reverence, awe, it means understanding God is bigger and stronger and more holy and more amazing than we ever thought. It also in context means living like that rather than just saying it.

But then on just a few verses and we get another word:

¹⁴ The sinners in Zion are terrified;
       trembling grips the godless:
       "Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire?
       Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?" 

The fear there is not reverence but rather it is terror, pure terror that God is coming to hand out justice. I guess all of us know deep down that if God were perfectly fair with us then we would be in deep trouble but the key to knowing Him not as terrifying judge but loving Father is not putting on a front and pretending everything is alright, rather it is honest confession. The people who Jesus seems to be most angry with in the gospels are those who play the religious card and yet are a million miles away from him in their hearts. They do not fear him but they will one day be in terror of him.

He gets my back up

Thinking yesterday evening about the comments in John 15 from Jesus about why people hate him got me thinking about the type of things that Jesus said that got people annoyed.

John 15v22-23 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well.

Jesus draws a strong link between guilt and hearing his words but rejecting them, and interestingly he makes the point that hating him and his words means that you hate God the Father too. You can't have God without Jesus.

But what was it that made people so angry what didn't they like about his words?
Well looking through Mark's gospel again to try and see what it is that annoyed them so much the primary thing, maybe the only thing that seemed to annoy them was when Jesus made claims about himself and his authority that seemed to undermine their power or influence. The opposition was largely from those in power, either political or religious power. That fits well with what Jesus says in John 15 and 16 about opposition coming from religious people who think they are serving God.

Surely that has a lot to say about the church's role as a voice that speaks out against abuse of power and false leaders but also a challenge to keep Jesus right at the centre of the debate. People don't want to talk about Jesus, they want to talk about issues, the problem with that is that it makes us reactionary; only responding to the agenda the world sets rather than setting Jesus out as the Son of God, the only saviour and the only hope this world has. His claim to absolute authority over our lives is completely offensive to many but it is the issue.

Renewed Attitudes

Reading Isaiah again last night and I found myself challenged by the words that he spoke about a change that would happen with Gods people.

Isaiah 29:23-24 ESV
     23     For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
          they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
     24     And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,
and those who murmur will accept instruction.”

Two things that particularly struck me;
1. The change from people who reject God and go their own way to people who honour Him is remarkable and it fits in so well with what we were looking at on Sunday morning, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name". The change here for these people is that they gain a profound sense of God's holiness, they hallow his name, they stand in awe of Him. A remarkable turn around from how they were behaving earlier in the chapter. What an encouragement to know that God is still at work even with people who are as messed up today as they were back then.

2. The change from murmuring complaint to humble understanding and teachablity seems to follow a change of perspective on God. Perhaps tackling complainers in churches head-on isn't always the wisest way to deal with it, perhaps what is needed is a radical shift in perspective and renewed attitudes towards God himself first.

Jude

I guess that Jude is one of those short letters in the New Testament that gets overlooked all the time. After all what could 25 verses have to say about our situation and our life, particularly when so much of it seems to be to do with obscure Jewish history?

Yesterday John Piper's weekly email dropped into my inbox and I was really challenged by what I read. It was talking about Jude and I though you might find it interesting.

The Value of Learning History: A Lesson from Jude
John Piper

The little letter of Jude teaches us something about the value of learning history. This is not the main point of the letter. But it is striking. In this next-to-last book of the Bible, Jude writes to encourage the saints to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints" (verse 3).
The letter is a call to vigilance in view of "certain persons [who] have crept in unnoticed... ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (verse 4). Jude describes these folks in vivid terms. They "revile the things which they do not understand" (verse 10). They "are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage" (verse 16). They "cause divisions, [and are] worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit" (verse 19).
This is a devastating assessment of people who are not outside the church but have "crept in unnoticed." Jude wants them be spotted for who they really are, so that the church is not deceived and ruined by their false teaching and immoral behavior.
One of his strategies is to compare them to other persons and events in history. For example, he says that "Sodom and Gomorrah . . . since they, in the same way as these, indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire" (verse 7). So Jude compares these people to Sodom and Gomorrah. His point in doing this is to say that Sodom and Gomorrah are "an example" of what will happen when people live like these intruders are living. So, in Jude's mind, knowing the history of Sodom and Gomorrah is very useful in helping detect such error and deflect it from the saints.
Similarly in verse 11, Jude piles up three other references to historical events as comparisons with what is happening in his day among Christians. He says "Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah." This is remarkable. Why refer to three different historical incidents like this that happened thousands of years earlier - Genesis 19 (Sodom), Genesis 3 (Cain), Numbers 22-24 (Balaam), Numbers 16 (Korah)? What's the point?
Here are three points: 1) Jude assumes that the readers know these stories! Is that not amazing! This was the first century! No books in anyone's homes. No Bibles available. No story tapes. Just oral instruction. And he assumed that they would know: What is "the way of Cain" and "the error of Balaam" and "the rebellion of Korah"? Do you know? Isn't this astonishing! He expects them to know. It makes me think that our standards of Bible knowledge in the church today are too low.
2) Jude assumes that knowing this history will illumine the present situation. The Christians will handle the error better today, if they know similar situations from yesterday. In other words, history is valuable for Christian living. To know that Cain was jealous and hated his brother and resented his true spiritual communion with God will alert you to watch for such things even among brothers.

To know that Balaam finally caved in and made the Word of God a means of worldly gain makes you better able to spot that sort of thing. To know that Korah despised legitimate authority and resented Moses' leadership will protect you from factious folk who dislike anyone being seen as their leader.
3) Is it not clear, then, that God ordains that events happen and that they get recorded as history so that we will learn them and become wiser and more insightful about the present for the sake of Christ and his church. Never stop learning history. Gain some knowledge every day. And let us give our children one of the best protections against the folly of the future, namely, a knowledge of the past.
Learning with you, for Christ and his kingdom,
Pastor John