Doxology On the Olson

YES! And that's all I have to say about that...

Doubly Good

Three reasons I love this song: It was played at our wedding, it was written by Rich Mullins, and it reminds me of my wife. It's Wednesday, so this song is for her.

Don't Accept Jesus

I'm a little disturbed today...I just don't see where exactly in Scripture I'm told to "accept Jesus" and discover "God's plan for my life". Pleading with people to "accept Jesus" is too optional, not to mention, I believe, unscriptural. I hear this phrase bandied about by preachers and missionaries and I wonder if that's what they really mean to say. That's what's bothering me.

Recently I heard a missionary talk for 45 minutes about their work, and seeing people "accepting God into their life" and how we should work hard to see "God's plans unfold" in our lives. What does any of this mean?

At the end of the service, I hadn't once heard why a person should "accept God" - I had barely heard the name of Jesus and would have had no idea that He could save me from my sins. There was story after story of this person and that person "accepting God into their heart" but I'm not sure I heard the Gospel at all. Had to be an off day for the missionary, it just had to be - and this was someone from a major evangelical, Biblically sound denomination, not the Most Right Reverend of the Universalist Church of Marshmallow Gumdrops. It was disheartening.

Again I ask, what does that mean, anyway? "Accept God." "Accept Jesus." It sounds like shaking hands with Jesus and saying, "OK, I'll take what you have. Sure nice to meet you, Jesus. Good thing you came along when You did. So what's this big plan you have for my life?"

The Scriptures command us to "repent and believe." There's no acceptance there, except for coming to grips with the fact we are utterly sinful and hopelessly lost without Jesus' righteousness applied to our lives. Is that what people mean when they say "accept Jesus?" If so, it needs to be explained. Plenty of people accept Jesus - but repenting and believing? Not so much.

John the Baptist said, "Repent." Jesus said, "Repent." Peter said, "Repent." Paul said, "Repent."

Salvation is not "accepting Jesus." It is a heart-rending, relief-filled head-on collision with our sin and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God.

We Won't Always Need Pain

Pain is good. The Marines say that "pain is weakness leaving the body." Rich Mullins sang of a "hurt that can heal with its pain." People who suffer from congenital analgesia probably wish they could feel pain. Folks with this condition are subject to all kinds of difficulties because they can't feel that they've chewed off the end of their tongue, or broken a bone, or have rested a hand on a hot burner. For them, the early warning system that pain is for most of us is absent.

So pain is good.

Pain keeps us from further injury or danger.

Pain toughens both the body and the mind against future tests and trials.

Pain reminds us that something is wrong and needs to be fixed.

Pain is a deterrent from risky behavior and sin.

There is a pain in separation that reminds us how great our love for others is.

There is a pain that reminds us when we have strayed from our heavenly Father.

Ahhhh. Pain. However, pain will not always be the odd ally that it is now. In fact, we won't need it all. And it will be banished along with the rest of the curse that causes creation to groan.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. Romans 8:20,21

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and . . . He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:1,4

The reason there will be no more pain on the new earth is because there will be no need for it; there will be nothing left to harm us.

No painful separation will be felt about those we loved so dearly who went on ahead of us - ever again.

No injuries will be sustained.

No Spirit-grieving backsliding will occur.

No more suffering in the furnace of purification will be necessary, because our sanctification and glorification will be complete and all the dross will be removed once and for all.

In some strange way, pain is good, and we need it. But not for long.

This One's For My Wife

Every Wednesday, a song dedicated to my wife...this one's almost too mushy and cute, so you've been warned. However, Sixpence is always worth listening to...

Humble Orthodoxy

"I really dig theology." Those are my own words, but I'm pretty sure Luther or Calvin or Spurgeon said them, too. Those guys were giants, however, and I'm just 5'11" and have been since high school.

Theology is fascinating, of course, because of the subject matter and is more rewarding than wealth, strength or brainpower. Just hover your mouse over Jeremiah 9:23-24 to find out more about that. Even in the knowledge of God, however, we can become boastful.

I quote Josh Harris from his book "Dug Down Deep" :

"Do you want to keep your orthodoxy humble? Try to live it. Don't spend all your time theorizing about it, debating about it, or blogging about it. Spend more energy living the truth you know than worrying about what the next guy does or doesn't know. Don't measure yourself by what you know. Measure yourself by your practice of what you know."

Theology must go beyond knowing facts to understanding the subject (even though we may begin to apprehend, we will never fully comprehend Him!). There is a qualification in the verse above, that those who know God should understand, not facts only, but also that He exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth. One should be able to say, yes, I know God - but more importantly, I have seen His works, I am known by Him and belong to Him.

I've found that I can be prone to get excited about knowing things about God without an equally increasing zeal for God Himself. What I know should change my heart, and therefore my actions as well.

Unrelenting Homiletic Bummer

The title of this post is how Eric Metaxas describes Dietrich Bonhoeffer's January 1934 sermon on the prophet Jeremiah, at least from the perspective of the congregation that undoubtedly was wanting or at least expecting something more upbeat.

This sermon, delivered in London while the Third Reich was rising ominously in Germany, was powerful and even prophetic. You can't help but imagine that Bonhoeffer saw his own future as he described the woes of Jeremiah:

"The path will lead right down into the deepest situation of human powerlessness. The follower [of God] becomes a laughingstock, scorned and taken for a fool, but a fool who is extremely dangerous to people's peace and comfort, so that he or she must be beaten, locked up, tortured, if not put to death right away. That is exactly what became of this man Jeremiah, because he could not get away from God...He is a prisoner and he has to follow. His path is prescribed. It is the path of the man whom God will not let go, who will never be rid of God."

Wow! Take THAT Joel Osteen! The life of Jeremiah is indeed intriguing, even troubling, if a person tends to believe that being a Christian is easy and nice. Victory isn't wealth, it isn't health, and it isn't marshmallowy sweet relationships. More from the sermon:

"The triumphal procession of truth and justice, the triumphal procession of God and His Scriptures through the world, drags in the wake of the chariot of victory a train of prisoners in chains. May he at the last bind us to his triumphal carriage so that, although in bonds oppressed, we may participate in his victory."

Victory is identification with Christ and His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, so that we will one day identify with Him in His resurrection!

Wednesdays Are Wife Days

It's Wednesday and time for another post dedicated to my wife. This song is "God Gave Me You" by Dave Barnes, and the first verse starts it off well:

I’ve been a walking heartache
I’ve made a mess of me
The person that I’ve been lately
Ain’t who I wanna be
But you stay here right beside me
Watch as the storm goes through
And I need you

I want to remember that life is brief, and I've been blessed - there's no time or place for bitterness.

Wednesdays Are Wife Days

Yeah. I know it's Thursday and the title says "Wednesday." Golly, you might even be reading this on Friday! However, the topic at hand demands a certain priority. You see, I'm falling in love again. No worries - it's with the same woman I've been married to for 19 years. I think this time around though, instead of "falling" in love, we're "building" love.

My wife and I love each other mightily but we've suddenly realized that we've slowly been dancing apart from one another at the sockhop, getting lost in the crowd. We've been working hard raising five sons, homeschooling those same children, being ministers in our local church and working other jobs to keep the fridge full. We've poured our love and energy into a lot of people...and now we are astonished to find that the pitcher is nearly empty and there's not much left to share with each other. We've not lost our love - just the vital connection we used to enjoy. So we stand there, as the dust settles, kind of looking at each other saying, "Whoa! What just happened?"

So, in the interest of honoring the girl of my dreams (my sons are cringing at that statement), and celebrating the greatest gift from God this side of salvation, I shall devote each Wednesday on this blog to my wife. And this is the beginning, on a Thursday. Kinda quirky, just like us.

Here's a song that reminds me of US. (Lyrics below, VIDEO HERE)

On Laundry and Learning Young

So this morning my 12 year old son comes upstairs laughing because he had turned one of his undershirts pink while doing his laundry. There are two very precious items in this short story. First, my 12 year old is doing his own laundry! Second, he learned the lesson of separating whites before going to college, which is where I learned that I do not like pink underwear.

Lessons learned while you're still young are as good as gold, in part because we are still young and malleable enough to learn. We can also enjoy the benefit of skipping out on a whole lot of foolishness while growing up because we've already learned a thing or two. Even at a youthful 40 years old, I can sense myself growing a more stubborn. My prayer is that God would keep my heart tender until the end.

Lamentations 3:26-28
26 So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.
27 And it is good for people to submit at an early age
to the yoke of his discipline:
28 Let them sit alone in silence
beneath the Lord’s demands.

The Prideful Prince

"My pride is so infernal that there is not a man on earth who can hold it in, and all their silly attempts are futile; but, then, my Master can do it, and He will."

OK! Who said this? Yes, yes, it could have been you. Indeed, I've said the same thing in so many words before, when despairing over my own condition. So, whose quote is this? Click HERE and check the answer...

See? Even the best of us struggle. We are all just men, made just by Jesus Christ and in the process of being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.