Month: January 2010

Obsession

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

So, it occurs to me that we are an obsessive people.  I mean, we obsess over everything.  We obsess over celebrities.  One look at the Supermarket checkout confirms our celebrity obsession.  Listening to talk radio or watching cable news confirms that some of us obsess over politics.  A trip to the bookstore tells us how many obsess over weight-loss.  The spread of plastic surgery and little used gym memberships illuminate an obsession with physique and looks.  We obsess over money, career, relationships, power and pleasure.  We obsess over our children–their education, their sports and even their owies.  It seems that all of us have something we obsess over.

Yet, there is one obsession we don’t have. There is one we ought obsess over, yet we pay it lip service.  That One is Christ.  “Work our your salvation with fear and trembling,” Paul wrote to the Philippians.  It seems we have Biblical warrant for a Christ-obsession.  In fact, I suggest the Christian should be more obsessed with the Lord, Jesus Christ, than with any of the other ‘obsessions’ of life.  When my weight, job, politics, money or whatever is taking up more of life and  mental energy than Christ, I think that is a problem.

Seriously, how many Christians spend more time concerned with work than with Christ?  How many spend more time worried about losing a few pounds than they do about gaining some righteousness?  How many spend more time focused upon what some celebrity is doing or wearing than they do over what Jesus did?

I wonder what it might look like if Christians rejected the obsessions of our world and embraced 1 obsession–the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?  I imagine we’d see an explosion in distinctly Christian behavior, and perhaps more outsiders would understand their need for Jesus.

Christ, Suffering & Punishment

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

As a Pastor, I’m often confronted with Christians who wonder if God is punishing them.  Sickness, or unemployment or other difficulties and tragedies make them wonder.  They often ask, “Why me?,” and wonder what God is trying to teach them.  While books are written on such subjects, I generally answer with three key points.

First, there is ‘no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,’ (Romans 8:1).  If they are a follower of Jesus Christ they need not fear that God is attacking or punishing them for some mistake they’ve made.  To illustrate, we look at 2 Corinthians 12 together.  There we read of Paul’s thorn, given by God to keep Paul dependant upon the Lord.  This wasn’t as a punishment, but as a tool to help Paul and glorify Christ.  As the Lord says, “My power is made perfect in weakness.”

So, tragedy, suffering or difficulty is not alien to the Christian life.  Like everyone else, we experience hardship.  Yet, we can safely say that these experiences are not God’s wrath against us, nor are they a cosmic punishment.

Second, we turn to Hebrews 12.  Here, we find that God, like a father, disciplines His children.  Of course someone will say, “But I though you said we aren’t punished!”  To which I would reply, “Punishment and discipline aren’t necessarily the same thing.”  Punishment is retribution, it is paying for a crime.  Discipline is training, seeking to improve the targeted person.

Now, the Hebrews 12 passage compares God’s disciplines to a father’s.  This comparison ought to give us great comfort.  This is doubly true if we’re wondering, “what did I do?” or, “what lesson am I supposed to learn?”  You see, when I discipline one of my children, I never hide what they’ve done wrong.  I also do not make them guess.  I explain very clearly what they’ve done wrong, so that they can learn and grow.

God does the same.  If He intends the circumstances of my life to teach me some lesson, then I don’t think He will let me miss it.  To do so would be like spanking a child without explanation.  The child is hurt and confused—and learns nothing.

Finally, we turn to 1 Peter 1:3-9.  Here Peter encourages Christians in persecution by reminding them that persecution refines their faith.  While persecution may not be our hardship, all suffering can produce a similar effect in us.  When faced with suffering we either turn from God or to Him.  When we turn to Him, casting our anxiety upon Him, we learn to love God more and this life less.  Over time, that develops a heart which treasures the things of God.  Romans 5:3-5 explains how enduring suffering develops character and hope.  So even when life seems endlessly frustrating, when sickness or tragedy hits, even when we cannot see why—we can know it will develop our faith.

Why does God allow suffering like we’ve seen in Haiti?

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

Through out history theologians and pastors have tried to answer such questions.  Evil and suffering are very hard to synthesize with belief in a loving God.  I don’t pretend to have the answers, but let me share some key thoughts.

First, God is a loving, powerful God but not just a loving, powerful God.  He is also wise, all-knowing, holy, righteous, just and wrathful.  Any adequate answer about suffering must deal with all of God’s attributes, not just one.  For example, while preventing all suffering from happening might seem loving, it might also violate other aspects of God’s character.

Second, because God is all-knowing, He sees not just the immediate suffering, but how that suffering connects to every other event—past and future.  Jonathan Edwards’ perspective is quite helpful in this regard.  He suggests that God sees through a microscope and a macroscope.  In the microscope God sees each event individually.  In this regard He rightly hates suffering.  In the macroscope God sees each event as it connects to all other events.  In this way, He may be inclined to allow that which He hates, because of outcomes we can never fathom.

Ultimately our response to tragedies like Haiti’s comes down to trust.  Can we trust God enough to say, “While I may never understand, I trust God’s reasoning in allowing this tragedy.”  Having trusted His reasoning, we are then free to respond with His love.

Freedom of Speech

~ brandon ~ 1 Comment

In America we enjoy free speech.  We can voice our opinions, religious, political, etc, without fear of government reprisal or censorship.  This is a great blessing, for sure.  Of course, we must also, then, be prepared to be offended.  If free speech means anything, it means people get to say unpopular things.  After all, it’s not really free speech if they can only say what I agree with.

Thus, I find it somewhat curious that those who hold pornography to be protected speech are up in arms over the upcoming Focus on the Family Superbowl ad.  This ad, which appears to be the Tim Tebow’s mom recounting her decision to not abort him, has raised the hackles of many pro-abortion groups, such as the National Organization for Women.  Many are attacking CBS for even allowing the ad to air–despite the fact Focus on the Family is paying for the ad, just like Miller or Budweiser or anyone else.

In this case, NOW specifically states:

Make no mistake about this ad: it’s offensive to women.

I’m not a woman, but I don’t think its offensive to women–just to some women.  But, even if it is offensive to every woman alive, does that mean CBS’ decision to air it is ‘revolting?’  Or, is CBS exercising their right to do business with whom they please, while Focus is exercising their right to free speech?

Sometimes I think they don’t want free speech for all, but just for them.

Washington Times – Tebows pro-life ad set for Super Bowl.

Giving and Providence

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

In World Magazine we find an brief article on the decrease in giving during our present economic struggles.

Ministries are still completing the final tally of gifts received at the end of 2009, but Calvin Edwards, who leads a philanthropic advisory firm based in Atlanta, Ga., believes donations for many ministries could fall by 10 percent to 15 percent for the year.

via WORLD Magazine | Less to give | Rusty Leonard | Jan 30, 10.

Like many churches, ours is also experiencing slight decreases in regular donations.  Yet, we can testify to God’s providence.  In the midst of all this, we are able to afford a new, long needed ministry facility!  Not by our wisdom, our strength or our sacrificial hearts–but by the unmerited grace of God.

a great question

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

By Cal Thomas, in World Magazine:

What makes the ruling and the march ironic is that the 1973 court, in essence, downgraded a human fetus to the level of nonperson, while the modern court has invested “personhood” in corporations. Does anyone else see a contradiction or at least a moral inconsistency in these two rulings?

via WORLD Magazine | Personhood | Cal Thomas | Jan 26, 10.

I hadn’t really thought of this inconsistency.  While I’m not sure it really is a new inconsistency, it is inconsistent.  Why ascribe rights to corporations as legal persons while denying rights to the unborn, who are actual persons?

Can you think of any reasons, outside the Bible, to be Pro-Life?

~ brandon ~ Leave a comment

I can think of many, such as unique DNA.  Within moments of conception the new baby is blessed with his own DNA.  This DNA tells us 1) the baby is human and 2) she is not the mom or the dad.  In other words, from moments after conception the DNA tells us it is a distinct human individual.

Also, being anti-life subjects human dignity and value to a cost/benefit analysis.  For example, only 7% of abortions are performed for tough cases such as rape, incest or serious health problems.  That means the overwhelming majority of abortions aren’t done out of medical necessity (in fact, fully 50% of women having abortions admit to using it as a form of contraception).  So if, in the mother’s eyes, the costs of bearing the child are greater than the benefit, then she aborts the child.  Doing so devalues that child and it devalues all of us.

We find the similar logic used to argue for euthanasia and assisted suicide.  Where the cost of life is higher than the perceived benefit, Doctor’s should be able to help end life early, we are told.  Again, connecting the value of someone’s life to the costs of keeping them alive devalues all of us.  Once we connect the dignity of human life to some cost/benefit analysis, we are only as valuable as we are perceived to be.  The big question then becomes who gets to make that determination.

While my Pro-Life views are primarily religious, they are solidly supported by science and logic.