I was reading today in Exodus 19 about God telling Moses to set boundaries around Mt. Sinai to keep the Israelites from approaching. God gave specific instructions regarding this prohibition: “You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, 'Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain" (19:12-13).
Did you get that? God shows that He is holy, so much so that if someone broke this rule, then no one would even touch that person…He would be stoned or shot with an arrow instead.
Moses then climbs the mountain to meet with God, and while he probably huffs with his hands on his knees, God tells him, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish” (21).
Moses states the obvious and reminds God of His earlier command. After all, surely His people wouldn’t transgress a clear message from the mouth of God, right?
God insists, and Moses trudges back down to the people to remind them of the serious nature of God’s holiness.
When God said, “Don’t come any closer!” the reaction was to do the thing He said to not do.
Now this holy God is the same God that we serve, the same God who has placed His Spirit into every believer, the same God we can approach with boldness because of the sacrifice of Christ…And we so often ignore Him and neglect spending time with Him, even though He made a way for us to know Him.
Given an advantage unheard of throughout the Old Testament, we chose to undervalue it.
There’s something patently wrong about that.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The Cleaner
"NO EXTRA CHARGE FOR FAST SERVICE"
That's one of the signs over the counter at the shop of my new cleaner. I smiled when I saw the sign. Half of the smile was due to the jovial way that this small-statured man of Asian ancestry went to find my suits from the rack. The other half of the smile was due to the reminder that people assume that service is an "add-on" and not the norm.
What is assumed at the cleaners is too often also assumed in the Church.
That's one of the signs over the counter at the shop of my new cleaner. I smiled when I saw the sign. Half of the smile was due to the jovial way that this small-statured man of Asian ancestry went to find my suits from the rack. The other half of the smile was due to the reminder that people assume that service is an "add-on" and not the norm.
What is assumed at the cleaners is too often also assumed in the Church.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Premodern, Modern and Postmodern Thought: A General Comparison
PREMODERN THOUGHT
Characteristics:
o The supernatural exists; God exists.
o He has perfect knowledge, and we can only know what He reveals to us.
o Humanity is, at the most basic level, bad, and is subject to God.
o Meaning and purpose come from Him.
MODERN THOUGHT
Characteristics:
o The supernatural and the natural are on two different levels. If humans are rational, and we depend upon what we know, then the supernatural is seen as being irrational…therefore inferior. Eventually, this idea moved deeper into…
o Naturalism (nature/the physical world is all that exists). Therefore God, being non-material, is obviously a creation of the human mind (so too for all religions).
o We can use observation, methods and cause/effect relationships to build upon the foundation of our knowledge and eventually achieve certainty. We don’t need revelation from God.
o Humanity is the measure of all things (we don’t exist to serve a higher being, we alone determine truth, and any authority can and should be questioned and tested).
o Secularism—there is no eternal, only right now. If there happens to be a supernatural world, it doesn’t have any impact upon reality in the present.
o At the most basic level a human is full of vast untapped potential to discover, tame and harness the unknown...we are, at heart, good.
POSTMODERN THOUGHT
Characteristics:
o The supernatural may well exist. But there is no one overarching purpose or meaning or universal foundation (authorities, including religion, exist to create a contrived hierarchy for the means of domination).
o We can never know anything for certain, and history itself is subject to interpretation and reinterpretation. Our set of knowledge arose from our society and culture alone.
o Truth is determined by whatever community you are in and is adopted for the community. There are multiple “truths.” Objective, absolute truth simply does not exist.
o Relativism—each person adheres to a personal system of values that “work” for the individual, and each value system is “right” for that person.
o Pluralism—all ideas are equally valid, except those that would claim superiority over another (those are wrong). No one religion is right.
(Check out Radically Unchurched by Alvin Reid and Thinking Against the Grain by N. Allan Moseley for a more detailed treatment of the topic of worldviews...Excellent resources...)
To use a metaphor…In Pre-modern thinking, God is the captain of the ship, standing at the helm, wheel eternally in hand. He supplies the wind, the ocean currents, knows the direction and destination, and we serve as His crew having been liberated from our chains of sin.
In Modern thinking, humanity is functioning as the captain of the ship, wheel firmly in hand. By reading the winds and predicting the currents with scientific accuracy we can discover the direction by science and reasoning and then chart a new destination to explore.
Postmodern thinking lowers the sails, cuts the anchor free, disables the rudder chain, lets the wheel turn as it may all while cursing the meaninglessness of the wind and waves as they push the ship randomly about…and casting furious opposition at those who might suggest that they must choose a captain.
Characteristics:
o The supernatural exists; God exists.
o He has perfect knowledge, and we can only know what He reveals to us.
o Humanity is, at the most basic level, bad, and is subject to God.
o Meaning and purpose come from Him.
MODERN THOUGHT
Characteristics:
o The supernatural and the natural are on two different levels. If humans are rational, and we depend upon what we know, then the supernatural is seen as being irrational…therefore inferior. Eventually, this idea moved deeper into…
o Naturalism (nature/the physical world is all that exists). Therefore God, being non-material, is obviously a creation of the human mind (so too for all religions).
o We can use observation, methods and cause/effect relationships to build upon the foundation of our knowledge and eventually achieve certainty. We don’t need revelation from God.
o Humanity is the measure of all things (we don’t exist to serve a higher being, we alone determine truth, and any authority can and should be questioned and tested).
o Secularism—there is no eternal, only right now. If there happens to be a supernatural world, it doesn’t have any impact upon reality in the present.
o At the most basic level a human is full of vast untapped potential to discover, tame and harness the unknown...we are, at heart, good.
POSTMODERN THOUGHT
Characteristics:
o The supernatural may well exist. But there is no one overarching purpose or meaning or universal foundation (authorities, including religion, exist to create a contrived hierarchy for the means of domination).
o We can never know anything for certain, and history itself is subject to interpretation and reinterpretation. Our set of knowledge arose from our society and culture alone.
o Truth is determined by whatever community you are in and is adopted for the community. There are multiple “truths.” Objective, absolute truth simply does not exist.
o Relativism—each person adheres to a personal system of values that “work” for the individual, and each value system is “right” for that person.
o Pluralism—all ideas are equally valid, except those that would claim superiority over another (those are wrong). No one religion is right.
(Check out Radically Unchurched by Alvin Reid and Thinking Against the Grain by N. Allan Moseley for a more detailed treatment of the topic of worldviews...Excellent resources...)
To use a metaphor…In Pre-modern thinking, God is the captain of the ship, standing at the helm, wheel eternally in hand. He supplies the wind, the ocean currents, knows the direction and destination, and we serve as His crew having been liberated from our chains of sin.
In Modern thinking, humanity is functioning as the captain of the ship, wheel firmly in hand. By reading the winds and predicting the currents with scientific accuracy we can discover the direction by science and reasoning and then chart a new destination to explore.
Postmodern thinking lowers the sails, cuts the anchor free, disables the rudder chain, lets the wheel turn as it may all while cursing the meaninglessness of the wind and waves as they push the ship randomly about…and casting furious opposition at those who might suggest that they must choose a captain.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Things I Don't Like So Much...At All...
Since some have asked (and since I've been posting those things that I do like), here, in no particular order, are some things that I've come to realize that I do not enjoy...
1. Flossing (though I do it daily...actually, multiple times daily...which may be why I don't like it).
2. Music by Tiny Tim.
3. Garbage Truck noise early in the morning.
4. Weeks when I don't have some time to be alone and recharge.
5. When people don't celebrate others' success.
6. Keyboards that have a key that's a little too hard to push. Sometimes my "A" KEY IS THAT WAY AND i OVERCOMPENSATE AND HIT CAPS LOCK BY MISTAKE.
7. Dried ketchup (or "catsup," if you like) collected around the mouth of the ketchup bottle. What's worse is catsup on the ketchup bottle...How'd that happen?
8. False humility (aka masked pride).
9. Theft.
10. Laziness.
11. Kimchi.
12. Driving anywhere for a long period of time.
13. Insecurity in leaders.
14. When a wrench slips off the nut or bolt head and your knuckles get bashed against something.
15. Sitting next to someone at a red light while they have their music up way too loud...So I turn up mine...Usually it sounds something like Biggy vs. Bach. (Bach, by the way, always wins...I mean, who will be listening to Biggy 300 years hence? No one. Point made. And yes, I know that few, other than me, use the word "hence" anymore...alas.)
16. Building kingdoms of our own instead of His Kingdom...Or worse still, building our little kingdoms and proclaiming them to be His. I mean, what part of "majesty" and "sovereign" do we not get?
17. The fact that few people read classic books. And by "classics," I'm referring to something older than the 1960's...much older...
18. Writer's block.
19. The fact that I can't paint well (I'm not talking about walls).
20. The reality that I let things bother me...
1. Flossing (though I do it daily...actually, multiple times daily...which may be why I don't like it).
2. Music by Tiny Tim.
3. Garbage Truck noise early in the morning.
4. Weeks when I don't have some time to be alone and recharge.
5. When people don't celebrate others' success.
6. Keyboards that have a key that's a little too hard to push. Sometimes my "A" KEY IS THAT WAY AND i OVERCOMPENSATE AND HIT CAPS LOCK BY MISTAKE.
7. Dried ketchup (or "catsup," if you like) collected around the mouth of the ketchup bottle. What's worse is catsup on the ketchup bottle...How'd that happen?
8. False humility (aka masked pride).
9. Theft.
10. Laziness.
11. Kimchi.
12. Driving anywhere for a long period of time.
13. Insecurity in leaders.
14. When a wrench slips off the nut or bolt head and your knuckles get bashed against something.
15. Sitting next to someone at a red light while they have their music up way too loud...So I turn up mine...Usually it sounds something like Biggy vs. Bach. (Bach, by the way, always wins...I mean, who will be listening to Biggy 300 years hence? No one. Point made. And yes, I know that few, other than me, use the word "hence" anymore...alas.)
16. Building kingdoms of our own instead of His Kingdom...Or worse still, building our little kingdoms and proclaiming them to be His. I mean, what part of "majesty" and "sovereign" do we not get?
17. The fact that few people read classic books. And by "classics," I'm referring to something older than the 1960's...much older...
18. Writer's block.
19. The fact that I can't paint well (I'm not talking about walls).
20. The reality that I let things bother me...
Friday, April 24, 2009
Things I Like #6
Goat cheese...Yes, goat cheese. I know that it's strong. I know that it's probably an acquired taste. Silver Goat is by far the best I've tasted.
Crumble it in a sandwich of crusty bread and grilled shrimp. Or, my favorite (I know this may sound repulsive, but this is what I like...If you have really strong feelings about that, then be my guest to start a blog for things you don't like and put this at the top of the list): a sliver of goat cheese on an organic wheat cracker with a dab of blackberry preserves.
Try it before you berate me.
(This gives me an idea...I'll do a series of my favorite cheeses...stay tuned.)
Coal Mines and Other Deep, Dark Places
Centralia is a town in Eastern Pennsylvania. In the early 1900’s millions of tons of coal were being mined in the region leaving behind an extensive web of excavated mine shafts, some more than 500 feet below the surface. In May 1962, on the outskirts of town, a garbage fire was burning in one of the old strip mine pits. This fire ignited one of the exposed coal seams which, in turn, made its way to the network of mine shafts. Over time, it spread underground until the ground began to seep smoke and fissures started to open in roadways. The grave nature of the problem emerged in 1981 as a young boy walked through the neighborhood and found the ground under him fall away into a 150-foot-deep hole. He was saved by clutching exposed tree roots until his cousin could rescue him. Though coal mine fires are common in the region, the danger of the fires being so close to the surface got the attention of the state. It was determined that a digging project to extinguish this fire would cost an estimated $660-million, and there were no solid guarantees that the attempt would work. The government began to buy the land and homes of the residents so they could relocate to safer ground. In 1981, there were 1600 people living there. Now, in 2007, there are 9.
This fire, started in 1962, has been burning now for 45 years. Currently, the fire is eating away at an stretch of an 8-mile-long coal seam that experts say will keep it burning for another 250 years.
Reminds me of bitterness…
We find in Hebrews 12 the command: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (vs. 14,15). We are warned to guard against a “root of bitterness” that would cause hurt to ourselves, to others, and most importantly, to our witness for Christ. Bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment…they all spread, and they all have a source. One incident, one person, or one word viewed in the wrong way can light a small fire in a little, secluded area of your life. Soon, if left unchecked, the flames of bitterness can find a way into a major seam and begin to creep slowly and methodically though all the foundational supports you depend upon, feeding the fire. Eventually, what is going on underneath makes its way to the surface, and people begin to recognize the damage. The major difference is this: you can’t just simply move away from the bitterness. No matter the cost, you must put out the blaze, lest the fire that burns against another consumes you as well.
This fire, started in 1962, has been burning now for 45 years. Currently, the fire is eating away at an stretch of an 8-mile-long coal seam that experts say will keep it burning for another 250 years.
Reminds me of bitterness…
We find in Hebrews 12 the command: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (vs. 14,15). We are warned to guard against a “root of bitterness” that would cause hurt to ourselves, to others, and most importantly, to our witness for Christ. Bitterness, unforgiveness, resentment…they all spread, and they all have a source. One incident, one person, or one word viewed in the wrong way can light a small fire in a little, secluded area of your life. Soon, if left unchecked, the flames of bitterness can find a way into a major seam and begin to creep slowly and methodically though all the foundational supports you depend upon, feeding the fire. Eventually, what is going on underneath makes its way to the surface, and people begin to recognize the damage. The major difference is this: you can’t just simply move away from the bitterness. No matter the cost, you must put out the blaze, lest the fire that burns against another consumes you as well.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
What You Leave Behind
“A man's life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree, the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching.” -C.H. Spurgeon
One of the things that I heard often when growing up was this: “That’s going to leave a mark.” I tripped and scraped my knee…“That’s going to leave a mark.”
Ran into the barbed-wire fence…“That’s going to leave a mark.” Fell from the top of a tree I had climbed…“That’s going to leave a mark.” And those situations did, in fact, leave their marks. We all have scars from accidents and incidents. We all have marks. But it’s easier to focus on the marks made upon us than it is to focus on the marks we make.
I think of parents who fail to guide and guard their children with a clear biblical focus…“That’s going to leave a mark.” People steadily pursuing habits that distance them from an intimate walk with God…“That’s going to leave a mark.” Or when anger, or gossip, or bitterness arises and governs behavior, sullies a life, or destroys a relationship…“That’s going to leave a mark.” We all have marks; we all leave marks.
In the New Testament, a certain word, tupos, surfaces periodically. The word means “the mark of a blow.” It is the word used to describe the act of minting a coin by striking it with a die, or leaving an impression in wax or clay by the application of pressure. It’s the same word translated as “pattern” in Philippians 3:17: “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have for us a pattern.”
He uses the word again (translated as “example”) in I Thessalonians 1:7: “So that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.” Paul uses the same word to encourage both Timothy and Titus to be examples to those before them.
You will leave a mark. You will make an impression that will, in some way, no matter how seemingly small, shape the lives of others. I saw a quote once that read, “No matter who you are, someone is looking to you as an example of how to believe and how to behave.” Who is watching you? Could it be said of you that you strive to live a life that strikes the right kind of die in the lives of others? That your lasting impression is one that shamelessly glorifies Christ and points others clearly to Him? Are you, like Paul, willing to say to those around you, “The things which you…saw in me, these do” (Phil. 4:9)?
What kind of example do you display?
What impression do you make?
That’s going to leave a mark…what will it be?
One of the things that I heard often when growing up was this: “That’s going to leave a mark.” I tripped and scraped my knee…“That’s going to leave a mark.”
Ran into the barbed-wire fence…“That’s going to leave a mark.” Fell from the top of a tree I had climbed…“That’s going to leave a mark.” And those situations did, in fact, leave their marks. We all have scars from accidents and incidents. We all have marks. But it’s easier to focus on the marks made upon us than it is to focus on the marks we make.
I think of parents who fail to guide and guard their children with a clear biblical focus…“That’s going to leave a mark.” People steadily pursuing habits that distance them from an intimate walk with God…“That’s going to leave a mark.” Or when anger, or gossip, or bitterness arises and governs behavior, sullies a life, or destroys a relationship…“That’s going to leave a mark.” We all have marks; we all leave marks.
In the New Testament, a certain word, tupos, surfaces periodically. The word means “the mark of a blow.” It is the word used to describe the act of minting a coin by striking it with a die, or leaving an impression in wax or clay by the application of pressure. It’s the same word translated as “pattern” in Philippians 3:17: “Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have for us a pattern.”
He uses the word again (translated as “example”) in I Thessalonians 1:7: “So that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.” Paul uses the same word to encourage both Timothy and Titus to be examples to those before them.
You will leave a mark. You will make an impression that will, in some way, no matter how seemingly small, shape the lives of others. I saw a quote once that read, “No matter who you are, someone is looking to you as an example of how to believe and how to behave.” Who is watching you? Could it be said of you that you strive to live a life that strikes the right kind of die in the lives of others? That your lasting impression is one that shamelessly glorifies Christ and points others clearly to Him? Are you, like Paul, willing to say to those around you, “The things which you…saw in me, these do” (Phil. 4:9)?
What kind of example do you display?
What impression do you make?
That’s going to leave a mark…what will it be?
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