“How Long Lord?” Psalm 13 (Sermon Recap)

What do we do when it seems like God is not there? When it seems like God has closed up shop and isn't coming to the answer the door, especially when we need him the most? Psalm 8 addresses just these sorts of times. The psalm deals honestly with the pain and angst that comes when we travel through what the Puritans called "the dark night of the soul" or "the soul's wintertime." But it's from that honest place that this psalm then points us to the Lord and helps us see how we can in fact still trust in him, even in our most difficult troubles.

But first we start with lament (Ps 13:1-2). "Lament" is the word you use to describe what you feel like when you are slowly disintegrating and your world is falling in on you and all you can do is cry out to God, "How long?! How long?! How long must this go on?!" There are three things that bring David to lament in this psalm. First is God's seeming absence (Ps 13:1). Second is loneliness, naturally because God is absent (Ps 13:2a)). Third is defeat (Ps 13:2b), that sense that the enemy, whoever or whatever it is, has ultimately won the battle and stands in victory over your life.

Sadly, many people stop here. But lament is pointless and even pathetic unless it drives us even more to God. We must remember that the main issue here is, "Where is God?" Lament helps us express this honestly and even emotionally. But prayer is where lament begins to be worked out with possible answers.

So the next step in this journey must be prayer (Ps 13:3-4). It's important to see that this prayer emerges right out of the previous verses. In this prayer the psalmist is saying, "If I stay here in this place, I am overcome and fall down defeated and essentially "dead." The enemy will get the last word. This prayer is a cry out to God to not let this happen! God can't let the enemy win. He can't let the godless get the victory. And why can't he let this happen? It's because there is a relationship between God and the person praying. This is the important background to the prayer found in v.3. Notice what David says here. He is looking for answers not just from any God, he's looking for answers from "my God." While he can't figure out what God is doing, he knows that nevertheless God is the one and only place he must go to find support .

This is the one constant throughout this psalm and it gives us the direction we need to go if we are to get through the dark night of the soul. Frankly there are not many specific answers for why certain things happen to us. There are no clear answers, at least right now, for why some of us go through certain types of physical suffering or financial hardship or relational heartbreak or emotional pain. But our lament as we experience these things can still find a true and powerful resolution once we realize the powerful answer God has in fact given us. This answer is himself, and even more a relationship with him where we can see and know him for who he really is.

It's only when you've really seen and known God that you can end up ultimately in trust (Ps 13:5-6). Trust comes not so much from looking at your present circumstances but at the past. And what the past reveals is who God really is, namely, a God who is always loyal and committed to those with whom he is in relationship. To enter into a relationship with God is to enter into a commitment that God will never abandon. The Bible is full of examples of God's rock solid loving commitment to his people. Time and time again God has proven himself to be a God who saves and who will always save his people. He is a God who always has and always will do far more good towards those he loves than they could ever imagine or think.

It is in this God, then, whom we place our trust! It is in this God we can find hope and confidence and joy, for our hope and confidence and joy is based not on us but on him and our relationship with him. What's so great about this is that while our trust in God may be seem weak and feeble at times, it is still a reliable trust because it is based on God. The main question always is, have you put your trust in the Lord?

Remember, we trust in a Lord who knows what it is to cry out in lament. Consider the words of Jesus on the cross, "My God my God why have you forsaken me?" That is the cry of lament. This is the cry of someone who knows what it is feel abandoned, alone, and defeated. In Jesus what we are seeing is the Lord God allowing himself to be forsaken, to go through the dark night like we all must do, so that he might establish a safe path through that night. By following Jesus we can ourselves take that path and find a God in the end who we can trust and rejoice in.

Jesus is the key evidence of God's steadfast love towards us. Without the story of Jesus, we would not be wrong to say that life is dark and painful and meaningless. But with the story of Jesus, we can now say that while life is often dark, there is a light to help us walk through the darkness. While life is often painful, there is healing to help us endure it. While life often seems meaningless, there is in fact a bearer of life who has come and infused eternal meaning into our lives.

This is what the story of the gospel, the story of Jesus, does for all those who have believed in Jesus. Jesus gives our cries of "how long" power, because we can know for sure that God will and does hear our cries, and Jesus gives us our cries of "how long" confidence, and even joyful hope, because we can know for sure that God will answer them for our ultimate good in the end.

Don't Be Hating the Church

I loved this post from the blog, Between Two Worlds:

Kevin DeYoung, in Why We Love the Church (pp. 87-88, line breaks mine):

But then again, consistency is not a postmodern virtue. And nowhere is this more aptly displayed than in the barrage of criticisms leveled against the church.

The church-is-lame crowd hates Constantine and notions of Christendom, but they want the church to be a patron of the arts, and run after-school programs, and bring the world together in peace and love.

They bemoan the over-programmed church, but then think of a hundred complex, resource-hungry things the church should be doing.

They don’t like the church because it is too hierarchical, but then hate it when it has poor leadership.

They wish the church could be more diverse, but then leave to meet in a coffee shop with other well-educated thirtysomethings who are into film festivals, NPR, and carbon offsets.

They want more of a family spirit, but too much family and they’ll complain that the church is ‘inbred.’

They want the church to know that its reputation with outsiders is terrible, but then are critical when the church is too concerned with appearances.

They chide the church for not doing more to address social problems, but then complain when the church gets too political.

They want church unity and decry all our denominations, but fail to see the irony in the fact that they have left to do their own thing because they can’t find a single church that can satisfy them.

They are critical of the lack of community in the church, but then want services that allow for individualized worship experiences.

They want leaders with vision, but don’t want anyone to tell them what to do or how to think.

They want a church where the people really know each other and care for each other, but then they complain the church today is an isolated country club, only interested in catering to its own members.

They want to be connected to history, but are sick of the same prayers and same style every week.

They call for not judging "the spiritual path of other believers who are dedicated to pleasing God and blessing people," and then they blast the traditional church in the harshest, most unflattering terms.

HT: Mike Wittmer

Smoking fast

I still can't believe the new 100 meter record is 9.58. That's just crazy. If I raced Usain Bolt, even at my top running condition when I was running college track, he would not only beat me, he would have time to jog back to the start and beat me again!

See below to see the race yourself (or for a higher quality view of it see the Universal Sports video feed)

"You Are Mighty Lord" Psalm 8 (Sermon Recap)

Psalm 8 is a praise psalm that directs us to praise God because he is mighty (see Ps 8:1, mighty is the sense behind the word "majesty").

The Lord is mighty in three ways:
1. God is mighty over his enemies (Ps 8:2)
Children and infants are some of the weakest and smallest creatures in the world. Yet somehow from their lips comes praise that is strength enough to silence the enemies of God. This should be no surprise to us - it is the Lord's pattern to use weakness and helplessness to do some of his mightiest acts (cf 1 Cor 1:27).

2. God is mighty over creation (Ps 8:3-4)
All creation testifies to God's might. In fact, compared to God even the heavens are like play doh, easily shaped into being by his fingers. (cf Isa 40:26, Rom 1:20)

3. God is mighty over mankind (Ps 8:4-8)
Creation is insignificant compared to God, and man is insignificant compared to creation. This makes man vastly insignificant compared to God. When we consider the greatness of the universe it is really only human pride that should make us think that God should notice tiny specks like us.

And yet God, of his own will, has seen fit to notice man, moreover, to give man glory and honor far above even the greatest planet or star by making us in his image. He remembers us and has specially commissioned us to rule over and steward this world.

These truths imply that our rule should model how God rules. God rules with care and wisdom and does not abuse his rule. God is praised then when we also rule over the world and all its creatures with the same care and wisdom.

These truths also impact how we view other human beings. If man has been made "a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned...with glory and honor" (Ps 8:5) by God himself, then we must not act within the world in such a way that demeans and degrades other people. God is praised then when we take conscious steps to also be mindful of others and care for others, especially the weakest "others" in our world, just like God does. How are we being and acting mindfully of others in other parts of the world, of others down the street from us, of others in our church and in our family?

And so, in summary, God wants us to live lives that praise him and acknowledge his worth and his might. This is especially done through how we treat our world and other people in our world. Man however has consistently failed to do this. We care more for ourselves than for others. We are more given to take from others for our benefit. We seek to establish ourselves as mini gods.

Of course, the world regularly defies man's attempts to be god. Through things like war, natural disasters, and diseases we are reminded that while we have dominion over the world we don't have complete control over the world. Rather than being humans crowned with the Lord's glory and honor, we are sinners crowned with shame and dishonor.

The only correction to this is Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled the role that human beings were supposed to fill within this world. He was the one human being who was perfectly glorious and honorable, the one human being who died and then conquered death by rising again so that we human beings could again claim the full glory and honor for which we were created. This happens when we believe in Jesus, a process that basically involves us adopting the name of Jesus for ourselves and becoming a new human being in him. In Jesus all things are brought under our feet (cf 1 Cor 15:27). In Jesus many people can brought to glory as sons and daughters of the Lord God (cf Heb 2:6-10).

It is from this Jesus based footing that we can truly speak of the Lord being OUR Lord (Ps 8:1, 9) and we can truly act as his heirs in this world. We can now truly praise him and live praiseworthy lives.

What are your thoughts and observations about Psalm 8?

"The Lord's Reign" Psalm 2

While Psalm 1 showed us how worship of God means commitment to the Lord's teaching, Psalm 2 shows us that worship of God means commitment to the Lord's king. "Kingship" is an example of biblical typology - this is when a certain "type," usually a person or place or concept or event - get picked up and repeated throughout the Bible, often gaining added layers of meaning and significance as you move through redemptive history towards Jesus Christ. Indeed, Jesus Christ is the focal point for most of the Old Testament types.

This dynamic is at play in Psalm 2. At one level the psalm is talking about an Israelite king who comes from the line of Israel's most famous king, King David. Back in 2 Sam 7, God had made promises to David that falls along the lines of what we see here, namely that God would be committed to David and that he would establish his throne forever. Psalm 2 picks up on this promise and affirms that God will be committed to the Davidic king. However, there is a deeper layer of meaning to discern concerning who this Davidic king is and what he represents.

At the outset of the psalm there is a strong affirmation of God's power (Ps 2:1-6). The nations plot to defy God and his king, but this is utter madness. The Lord will establish his king and his reign and no one can oppose him. The Davidic king himself is in a special relationship with God. He has the status of God's Son (Ps 2:7). He then is to rule on behalf of God, as his representative in the world. And in being God's Son he is given the whole world as his inheritance (Ps 2:8-9). Quickly we realize here that this is an uncommon king and an uncommon reign. Up to now we have expected that God's promise pertained only to the nations surrounding Israel. However, this promise concerns a worldwide rule over a worldwide kingdom. There is a sense of power and authority with this king and his reign. He will make sure that the world will finally, once and for all, come under the Lord's undisputed rule.

The only right response to the Lord and his king then is submission (Ps 2:10-12). Submission means a true fear and reverence of the Lord. God is not Big Bird or Barney. God is someone who lays claim to all the world, and to go against him means being completely crushed. God is the best in the world when comes to demolishing opposition. So serve the Lord with fear!

Submission though also means delighting in and enjoying God. As v.11 makes clear, we are invited to rejoice! Joy comes when we have fearfully submitted to God and then realized that this Lord we serve is not an evil dictator but rather a good and just ruler who makes space in his kingdom for anyone who wants to take refuge and find security.

We have a choice then - know the Lord's anger by rejecting his rule or know the Lord's blessing by submitting to him with respect and joy. Sadly the natural human tendency is to resist. This is where the Lord's king comes into play. For the Davidic king who fulfills the hope and potential of Psalm 2 is Jesus. He is the one true and full Son of God, the anointed one who accomplishes what was long ago promised by God (cf Acts 4:24-27, Rev 19:15-16). Submitting to the Lord really means submitting to King Jesus. One day Jesus will forever and definitively establish the rule of the Lord on the earth. How we will experience that rule then will depend on how we accept his King now. To live for yourself now is to experience the death of yourself, a death that will last forever under the Lord's punishment. But to die to yourself now, to submit to Jesus as the Lord's Son and King and thus to submit to the Lord's rule, is to come even now under divine blessing, with the promise of seeing it fully realized then.

What are your thoughts as you read through Psalm 2?

"The Lord's Way" Psalm 1

Last Sunday we began our survey of the Psalms in a series entitled "Worship YAHWEH: thinking, knowing, feeling, and praising God." The focus on Sunday was on Psalm 1. Psalm 1 functions well as the first psalm since it lays down the foundation for how we might experience a delighted worship of God. There are two ways to live: 1) the way of the righteous, which will lead us to delighted worship of God, and 2) the way of the wicked, which will lead us to our destruction.

Ps 1:1-2 explains the two ways to live. The wicked way involves a kind of entrenched pridefulness, where your thoughts and actions show themselves to be firmly set in opposite directions from God. The happy (i.e. "blessed" - this word simply means "happy") person steers clear of this type of life and those set in this type of life. Instead, they delight in and meditate on the teaching (or "law") of the Lord. In other words, all of life is seen through the prism of God's teaching. God's word is the main syllabus and course packet for understanding and navigating through life. This word is meditated on "day and night," which means that there is no area of life that is not shaped by and influenced by God's teaching. This also means then that every moment of my life can be moments of profound happiness if I am regularly ingesting and enjoying the food of God's word.

Ps 1:3-4 illustrates the two ways to live. The righteous way of delighted worship is like being planted in a secure, stable place, being regularly nourished by water, and producing visible fruit. The wicked way, on the other hand, is like useless chaff. It doesn't matter how happy and prosperous the wicked appear to be. Eventually their lives will be shown to be utterly worthless, without any vitality or substance. It is inherently rootless, easily overwhelmed by the winds of life.

Ps 1:5-6 concludes the psalmist's thoughts on the two ways to live. All sin, no matter how it looks like, will not last among God's people. For God intimately knows the way of those who follow and delightedly worship him. These are his people. But the way of sin, the way of the wicked, will be utterly destroyed.

In the end then, we can if we want be unhappy. We do this when we choose to steer away from God and his teaching. Or, we can be happy. We do this when we choose to stay grounded in and devoted to the Lord's teaching. Sadly, the natural inclination of man is to choose the way of unhappiness, because we are naturally drawn to choosing our own ways rather than God's ways. Fortunately, we have the hope of God acting towards us in Jesus Christ. He moves towards us, planting us in the soil of gospel that then allows us to truly seek him and his teaching.

Thus, the beginning of delighted worship of God and the foundation for delighted worship of God is thankfulness - thankfulness to God for wrenching us out of death and into life in his Son. Such thankfulness opens us up to rich worship of God as we then grab hold of and shape our lives according to the teaching that unfolds all the implications of our new status in Jesus. Because of this, we can know that we will be happy tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, all the way until eternity. We can know this not because we know for sure everything will go our way (it definitely will not!) We can know this if we know that our life are firmly set in the Lord and his instruction. To know this, and to then live it out, is the key to true happiness.

The 21st Century Christian and Technology

Technology has a great impact on human life. It provides us with new and powerful ways of interacting with the world. These interactions are geared towards making things more effective, efficient and convenient for us. So for example portable music players mean that I am able to enjoy music when I want to as opposed to only when there is a live performance.

Such advances are certainly enjoyable and satisfying. At the same time however we must recognize that the values of efficiency and convenience are not necessarily God's highest values. The Bible often shows God having his people do things that are decidedly inefficient and inconvenient (ex. Israel marching around the walls of Jericho, the command to only carry the ark of the covenant only by poles, Israel having to hamstring any horses they captured as they conquered the land of Canaan).

Instead, what the Bible is concerned to teach us is that our lives must be oriented first and foremost around God's standards. Everything in our lives should submit to God - no matter how inconvenient this might be. The basic assumption of Romans 12:1-2 is that there are some ways of life that Christians must wholeheartedly reject. God tells us to instead "think differently" by having a renewed mind so that we can live the transformed life that fits with God's will, namely all that is good and acceptable and perfect.

Christians begin to have a renewed mind when they believe in Jesus. In Christ they gain a new life with God. But this new life must be nurtured and matured. We must "test" it so that it aligns with God's will.

Too often our approach to life is a naive immediate consumerist adoption of everything shiny and new that comes our way. The transformed life of the Christian will instead "test everything" before swallowing it down and incorporating it into our lives and churches (cf 1 Thess 5:21-22).

It's from this vantage point that we begin to realize the importance of great discernment when it comes to technology. Technology has great value for us but it also holds great danger for us. For technology impacts us not just in how we use it but in the fact that we use it, that we then begin to depend on it, and that we then demand to have it. So for example cell phones have made it easier for us to contact people. However, the use of cell phones also changes our expectations about contacting people. We begin to expect that we should always be able to contact people whenever we want to (and thus get frustrated whenever this doesn't happen), and we begin to live in such a way that we expect to be easily contacted by others (which means we get used to constant interruptions throughout our day).

At a certain point, technology can become like a god. It subtly but powerfully reshapes our persepctive, priorities, and expecations away from what God wants us to do towards whatever is most convenient and satisfying for us to do. Neil Postman writes how technology has become a god for us in that, "...people believe technology works, that they rely on it, that it makes promises, that they are bereft when denied access to it, that they are delighted when they are in its presence...and that, in the born-again mode, they will alter their lifestyles, their schedules, their habits, and their relationships to accomodate it."

This is why it is absolutely crucial to be discerning when it comes to our engagement with technology. Such discernement and testing I believe will reveal some clear dangers to avoid and some major biblical emphases to embrace.

Dangers in the technologically centered life
1. Tendency to elevate information
Technology makes it easier and easier to find out whatever we want about anything. But just because we have a lot of knowledge available to us doesn't actually mean we actually know anything! As Christian blogger Tim Challies recently wrote, we can begin to think that memorizing the Bible is unimportant if we think that we can always just instantly call up any information we need off our laptops or cell phones.

2. Tendency to elevate the trivial.
In every generation there is a tendency to drift towards diversion, to dwell on silly and useless things. Note for instance Paul's instruction to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:4.

It says a lot about us, that we are able to find time to check our Facebook page throughout the day but struggle to find even a few minutes to pray or read fromt eh Bible. We are able to carve out time to watch a few of our favorite hourlong dramas on television each week but have a number of excuses for why we can't make a weekly church gathering. We stay up on what new movies or new music is coming out but are clueless about what's really going on in other people's lives.

3. Tendency to elevate the immediate.
Our current technological world has effectively rewired many people's attention spans. We've become addicted to getting an immediate and constant flow of media, which it makes it harder to stay focused on any one thing. Our minds constantly wander from whatever task we are engaged with to something else. In the space of 15 minutes we will go from working on a paper to checking email to answering a cell phone.

4. Tendency to elevate a "browsing" lifestyle.
We "skim" or "browse" through life, never really engaging with anything or anyone. Douglas Groothuis in his book "The Soul in Cyberspace" describes how many go through their days having an "absent presence." We might be physically there with people, but not really engaged with them. We are simply browsing through our interactions with people as we busily text and chat and watch TV.

There tends to be a false sense of intimacy born out of the "browsing" lifestyle. We will for instance reveal very personal things through technology but remain superficial when it comes to talking face to face with someone.

The above list clearly holds great danger for the Christian concerned to live in right relationship with God and others. In contrast to this the Bible emphasizes certain things that will instead orient us to God and rightly develop our lives with God.

Emphases in the God-oriented life
1. The importance of being present.
The Hebrews writer directly tells us in Heb 10:24-25 to not give up the habit of meeting together. He ties in important "one anothers" like loving one another or encouraging one another with the habit of meeting together. True Christian relationship come out of people coming together regularly and knitting themselves together in the love of Christ. Note also 1 John 1:1,3, where we see that the disciples' physical encounter with Jesus launched them to start proclaiming the gospel that announced a way for all people to have a relationship with God through Jesus. As we proclaim the gospel and develop relationships that involve real presence and deep engagement with others, we carry on the mission that the apostles' first began.

Technology has a bad habit of pointing us away from this biblical emphasis. But it can also help encourage and point us towards these kinds of relationships. They can be used to extend and further enhance and deepen our existing relationships.

The apostle John for instance certainly took advantage of the technology of writing and the Roman road system to connect with various Christians in the 1st century. But nevertheless he affirms that there are some things that could not be conveyed in letters, that required physical presence. As he writes in 2 John 1:12, "Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete."

2. The importance of humility and authenticity.
Technology can facilitate honest and humbly engagement with people or destroy it. The internet too often is a place where peopel engage in driveby shootings of people's character. In addition, it is geared to making you be the star. It provides tools for you to promote yourself, to obssess about yourself and what other people think about you. Josh Harris rightly points to what the Bible instead emphasizes when he writes, "I need to grow in self-forgetfulness. I need to worry more about what God is thinking of me. I need to be preoccupied with what he's written in his word, no what somebody just wrote on my 'wall.'" The "one anothers" of Scripture imply that our basic orientation is not to oursleves but towards others. And our highest priority is to be what God wants to do in and through us; it is not about us but about God!

A practical guideline to these first two points would be to encourage habits of life that make us engage people fully. Put the phone down and instead look be present with people.

3. The importance of reflection and "digestion."
Just as we should be present/engaged with people so also we should seek to be present/engaged with God's word and our own lives. We must regularly engage in the practice of examining and thinking over the word and then taking its truths into our hearts in such a way that our lives are deeply affected and radically changed.

On reflective digestion of the word, see Ps 119:11, 1 Tim 4:13, and 2 Tim 3:14-15. On reflective examination of one's own life, see 1 Cor 11:28 and 2 Cor 13:5.

A practical guideline here would be develop sustained attention over immediacy. This means:
- Reducing multi-taksing and any other habits that encourage distration and an ADD type of spirituality.
- Engaging in regular media fasts/techno-Sabbaths
- Truly studying God's word. Then study yourself in light of what you study in God's word.

4. The importance of words - specifically God's words
The Christian faith is a word-centered faith. Our technology tends to be image-centered. Images are important and significant. But they are important and significant to the degree that they implant certain words within us, more specifically, God's words. Note how the tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament, while they had some striking visual elements, all had at their center a box within which you found not a statue of God but stone tablets on which was written the law of the Lord. When Satan attempted to tempt Jesus to live strictly by his physical senses, Jesus told him, "Man will not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

What we see can't be understood apart form being anchored to God's word. Technology, wisely used, can help spread and reinforce this word into our lives.

A practical guideline for this point is that we must diligently develop a love for God's word over media. This means:
- Regularly read scripture aloud and in community
- Have a solid bible that you regularly bring with you and whose truths you apply as you are out in the mix of life.

5. The importance of wisdom and understanding.
We have tons of information instantly available at our fingertips. But just because we have a lot available doesn't mean we are actually doing much with it. The Bible calls us to not having simply a lot of knowledge but towards having wisdom. Indeed, wisdom begins with the "fear of the Lord" (Prov 9:10) This will often mean dealing with inefficient and inconvenient things like suffering and patience.

A practical guideline here would be to develop wisdom over trivia. This means:
- Reduce useless information and trivia in your life. Instead seek to read large chunks of important things. Seek to know and memorize important things (like God's word)
- Use technology for the sake of cultivating wisdom. If you are using things like facebook, blogs, and text messaging, then saturate it with stuff that points people to God and to the kind of lives that we want to live with God.
- There's some technology that some of us, probably most of us, should absolutely reject and avoid. It takes up valuable time and energy and more often than not engages us in useless diversion as opposed to developing wisdom within us. Do we really need to watch as much TV as we do or have as many TV channels as we do? Do we really need to have an account with the newest social networking thing out there? Do we really need to daily check as many websites as we do? Answer to all these questions: No!

In the end, we must say that while technology is a great and powerful tool, let it always be seen as a power that submits to the far far greater power of God that is able to bring salvation to everyone who believes (Rom 1 1:16). It is this power that we should embrace, seeking the salvation of many through it. We bring all other things in this world, including technology, in service to this great mission.

What are your thoughts on being a Christian in a technological world? How has technology functioned in your life and how do you make sure it functions in a way that does not slowly deteriorate your walk in the Lord?

The 21st Century Christian and Conflict

Last Sunday the sermon topic was on conflict. Conflict is always a reality for human society. Whenever you have a relationship or a community of relationships, there is always the potential for conflict.

There are several ways people typically deal with conflict:
1. Deny deny deny (i.e. pretend nothing is wrong)
2. Run away! (i.e. avoid the situation by any means possible)
3. The quiet boil (i.e. say nothing, just quietly simmer with resentment)
4. Take no prisoners (i.e. do whatever it takes to make sure your side "wins" in the conflict)
5. The viral epidemic (i.e. gossip; tell people about "your side," which ensures that more people get drawn in and "infected" by the conflict)

None of these are effective, because they don't deal with the root cause of conflict. Fortunately this is what God does for us in the Bible in the following manner.

Understanding conflict
James 4:1-3 shows us that conflict is a heart issue. It arises when desires become dictatorial lusts that rule over our lives. They become the idols of our hearts and guide us toward choices and actions that bring about conflict. We go from simply wanting something to then demanding that we have something and reacting in sin when we can't have that something.

Addressing and resolving conflict
1. Humble yourself/Examine yourself
James 4:7-8 shows us that we must first turn to God. Out of control desires bring conflict primarily not at the human-to-human level but at the God-to-human level. God alone should rule over our hearts; conflict shows that we have tried to dethrone him and put our desires on his rightful throne in our hearts. So we must humble ourselves, come before God, and admit our sin towards him. In so doing, God "will draw near" to us. This puts us in position to then examine our hearts, a process that Matthew 7:1-5 commends to us. This passage does not say that we should ignore what's going on in another person's life. We are to remove "the speck," but we must do so by first being keenly aware of our lives and our sin. Because from our perspective, as CJ Mahaney as rightly said, you are the worst sinner you personally know because only you know the dark things that reside in your own heart. In that sense, knowing only the inner life of your own self, there is rightly a "log" to address before removing "specks" from others' eyes. In this process you might rightly discover that the offense committed is one that is best quickly forgiven and overlooked (cf Prov 19:11, 12:16, 17:14).

However, it may be that the offense committed is significant enough that it cannot and should not be overlooked. Peacemaker Ministries offers the following helpful questions to determine if a particular offense is something that should not be overlooked and must be dealt with: 1. Is the offense seriously dishonoring God? 2. Has it permanently damaged a relationship? 3. Is it seriously hurting other people? 4. Is it seriously hurting the offender himself?

2) Confront
If an offense is serious and/or persisently ongoing, it must then be confronted. This is a divine obligation (see Matt 5:23-24, 18:15-17). This means going and talking directly the offender. Not doing this affects the worship and the long term spiritual health of a church body. Persistent unresolved sin is truly like a slow cancer that will eventually kill a church community.

3) Always aim, as much as is possible, for reconciliation
The Matthew verses show us that the goal of biblical confrontation should always be, as much as is possible, reconciliation and the restoration of the offender into the church community. This means then that while biblical confrontation must involve speaking truth, even hard truths, it should be done in the soil of grace, wisdom, and above all love. (cf Gal 6:1)

Some more practical tips from Peacemaker Ministries on how to do this:
1. Pray for humility and wisdom.
2. Plan your words carefully
3. Choose the right time and place
4. Assume the best about the other person until you have facts to prove otherwise (Prov 11:27)
5. Listen carefully
6. Speak only to build others up
7. Ask for feedback from the other person
8. Recognize your limits - remember that ONLY God can change people

Now sometimes, sadly, the other person with whom you are interacting does not respond and is unwilling to take the necessary steps towards reconciliation. In such cases it could then be necessary to bring other people in to help (see Matt 18:16). Ultimately, it may be that the other person never takes the steps necessary to bring about reconciliation. This however should not be the end of things for you. To again quote Peacemaker Ministries, "The Christian should never close the Bible." We should continue to seek biblical insight, guidance and counsel about the situation. And we should always be in position to extend grace and forgiveness toward the person once they are willing to take the necessary steps and so complete the process of reconciliation and restoration. Ultimately, we must trust God and leave all situations like this in his hands.

Avoding conflict - how we should instead relate to each other
Galatians 5:13-15 and Ephesians 4:16 show us how our relationships should look like; they should be characterized by love of neighbor, humility and gentleness, and an eagerness to maintain unity. Colossians 3:12-14 and Ephesians 4:31-32 show us that the real key to rightly relating to one another is found in the gospel. If we are to forgive others and thus maintain unity, it will happen to the degee in which we understand how we've been forgiven by the Lord. The gospel shapes how we can rightly deal with conflict and also how we can avoid pointless gospel. I especially appreciated CJ Mahaney's words in "The Cross Centered Life." Towards the end of the book he reminds us that "because of sin relational conflict is inevitable. You'll sin against others. They'll sin against you." The gospel however helps in that "when I become bitter or unforgiving toward others, I'm assuming that sins of others are more serious than my sins against God. The cross transforms my perspective. Through the cross I realize that no sin committed against me will ever be as serious as the innumerable sins I've committed against God. When we understand how much God has forgiven us, it's not difficult to forgive others. God's been patient with me so I can be patient with others. God has forgiven me so I can forgive others. God's grace is changing me so I can trust that he can also change others."

So, what are your thoughts on this topic? Here are some potential starter questions: Why do you think people, including many Christians, have so much unresolved conflict in their lifes and often seem unwilling to address it in the right biblical way? Why do you think people are afraid of biblical confrontation or quickly reject it when it's done towards them? How can we encourage a church environment where biblical confrontation is normal and welcome? And how can we can we cultivate a church community known more for the unity among its members rather than conflict?

The 21st Century Christian and Singleness

Two Sundays ago (June 7th) the sermon topic was on singleness. We looked at examples of singleness in the Old Testament and the New Testament (see the chapter on singleness in "God, Family, and Marriage" for a great treatment on this). From there I laid out two biblical truths on singleness:

1. Singleness is a gift from God
1 Corinthians 7:7 sees both singleness and marriage as gifts given by God. To a certain extent then, singleness is a gift that all people have in their life for at least some period of time. God, being a good and perfect God, gives only good and perfect gifts (James 1:17). So we should see singleness as a good and perfect gift from God, to be used in praise of God for whatever period of time we possess this gift. This leads us to the second biblical truth.

2. Singleness is an avenue for "undivided devotion to the Lord."
1 Corinthians 7:31-35 is the passage in which we find this phrase "undivided devotion to the Lord." The idea here is of being without distraction, of focusing completely on a specific task or service. The Bible is saying then that those who are unmarried are uniquely poised to give complete attention and focus to the Lord and his mission. Singleness should be a period of time of which we take full advantage! It provides us the opportunity to serve the Lord and enjoy him at a level that is without parallel in this life.

We also considered several practical areas of application for these truths, which included the following:
1. Ministry
Singles/Unmarrieds should jump into God's mission with full force. They should afford themselves of the opportunity to do radical things when it comes to being involved in people's lives, to serving in the city and the world, to praying and reading God's word, knowing that as they devote themselves fully to the Lord they will find him faithful to fully satisfy their souls.

2. Dating and 3. Sex
Men must be real men, honest and direct and not passive Peter Pan boys, when it comes to dating relationships. They must be careful to guard the hearts of the women around them, always treating all unmarried women, including those they date, as their sisters in Christ (1 Timothy 5:1-2). Women must be careful not to idolize relationships. They must be sure that only Jesus takes the role of Lord and Savior in their life and not being a relationship. And certainly both men and women must be careful to see that all sexual or sexually related activity find its proper place within marriage, where it was especially meant for (cf 1 Thess 4:36, 1 Cor
7:2-4, 9).

4. Parenting
Single parents can also show undivided devotion to the Lord by focusing their attention on an area that is central in the Lord's mission - raising their kids to know and follow Jesus. They should gladly see this as their first and foremost ministry before God.

Ultimately, the gospel is the key background for us to understand singleness. Because of the gospel, no person is truly "single." Without Jesus, we all were enslaved to sin and thus unable to be a true, unified relationship with God or with each other. In this sense, every person, no matter their marital status, was spiritually speaking "single." The good news of the gospel is that we who were once thus apart from God and one another are now brought near to God, reconciled to him and to one another in Christ. Because of this gospel of Jesus Christ, we are all intricately connected as brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. It is in fact this commitment, as one church, united in and to Jesus, that will last forever. This connectiveness is something we must continually reinforce, embrace, and express within the church.

What are your thoughts on this subject? How can we better speak of singleness and even embrace it as Christians?

The 21st Century Christian and Money

And we're back! Again sorry about the long hiatus in postings. But as I said in the previous post, I hope to get back to a more regular schedule of postings, starting this week.

For this post I want to open it up to any further discussion or thoughts on the topic of last Sunday's sermon. Last Sunday we began a series called "The 21st Century Christian: Living out the Gospel Story within Today's Culture." The basic gist of the series is to try and develop a gospel-centered biblical theology on a couple of different subjects. This past Sunday's subject was money (see http://www.rooseveltchurch.org/resources/sermon-archives/ for the audio). We looked over a whole bunch of passages and based on those passages I elaborated on the following 4 biblical truths and 3 biblical practices based on those truths.

4 biblical truths:

1. Money must not be your God

2. Having money is not necessarily evil

3. God is deeply concerned with how you get your money

(i.e. Do you work justly to gain money for what you need or are you working unjustly to gain money? Do you work hard or are you lazy and expect things to always be given to you?)

4. God is deeply concerned with how you use your money

(i.e. Are you generous or are you a hoarder?)

3 biblical practices:

1. Generously use money to do good, especially for the least in our world and especially for those within the church

2. Be content

3. Trust God

We also spent some time quoting a number of sad statistics (all from a recent book entitled "Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don't Give Away More Money") about how little American Christians actually give away of their money (basically 1-2% of their income). We then considered the astounding amount of ministry that could be accomplished if we became modestly generous with our money (giving a minimum of 10% of after tax income; the additional money that would generated would be $133.4 billion dollars).

So, what are your questions and thoughts on this subject? Here are a few questions to get things started (mostly provoked from Mike Bullmore's own application questions based on his sermon on this topic from 1 Corinthians 16):

1. How much should Christians be talking about the subject of money to one another? Should we be more open about how we spend our money and how much we give away to one another? Should this be part of being accountable to one another?

2. Is your giving a consistently planned priority? Why should it be important to have giving be a consistently planned priority?

3. How does the gospel release us and encourage us to be generous givers? How has the gospel done this in your life?