July 11, 2011

I realized why I don’t write much for the public eye anymore.  It typically costs me something to be real and honest.  See, to be rooted in a culture that thrives on security and safety in almost every aspect of our lives people find that honesty upsets those norms.  People don’t like it when the mainstream is questioned or challenged.  We like status quo and we like uneventful routines that make us feel something comfortable inside.  Well I have to admit there is a part of me that is slowly dying inside because of this pursuit for normalcy. It's the incremental loss of my risk taking spirit.

Those that really know me, which is a pretty small group, know that I’ve always surrounded myself with spiritual risk takers.  However, the older I get the harder it seems to find real Godly risk takers. This isn’t simply contained to HI, but with my peers globally. We’ve gotten older and some would say wiser.  But deep down I miss being around people that believed they could actually change the world.  People desperately wanting to be remembered for more than their church attendance, career success or community reputations.  I’m not talking about rebellious spirits or ego driven hot shots that have something to prove.  I know this because throughout life I’ve been both of these.  I’m talking about people that are emotionally starved and crying out for so much more than an American dream.  People that want worship to be more than the latest Tomlin or Hillsong radio hit. People that want revival in a land of dry bones.  I’m talking about people desperate for a church audience that cares less about themselves and more about unreached people that sit within yards of their seats every Sunday morning. 

I’m thirty-six years old and this piece in me that seems to be dying inside would, to many, be chalked up to family life, career and just plain getting older.  But the thing is that the more comfortable I get in these postures the more I feel the presence of my God slipping away. His voice is more distant and his challenge to me less pressing.  His Word gets more academic and His people more... well, honestly, annoying.  I thought the opportunity to come serve in Hawaii would be a gateway to reach people on a global scale, but instead I continue to hear the need for me to slow down and stop worrying about things.  This motto of “No worries.” at times has become a thorn in my heart and my greatest worry.   See "No worries." in many respects points to this relaxed and laid back perception to life in general.  My worry is that this "No worries." idea has rooted itself into the perception of the gospel message as well.

I’ve been told on more than one occasion that I seem to be in a hurry and I guess for those that don’t really know me that would be an accurate statement.  But truly, it’s not about being in a hurry, it’s more about this restlessness inside of me that wants something more in the church, my home and my life. I feel like if I just slow down and begin to enjoy life I'll lose a part of me.  That desire to live in the unknown and the realms of "stupid faith" (refer to previous post on the meaning of stupid faith), it's that part of me that I feel keeps me close to Him. I know that sounds contradictory with scripture and the need to be still before the Lord, but there is a part of me that genuinely fears getting comfortable with life and the gospel. Slowing down and settling in makes me feel like I might lose that sense and greatness of my God.  That sense of wonder that believes He calls people to move to China or Rwanda to teach English as missionaries, even in their fifties. That faith that he moves young families to the middle of the Pacific to preach the gospel.

To me slowing down and getting comfortable with life means settling and settling in the church and gospel ministry is an ugly picture. It's where the Sunday morning experience literally takes the life out of me as our corporate gatherings culturally become the end all in our spiritual pilgrimage.  The details of services and buildings, numbers and dollar signs, heads in the pews, slick advertising, and catch phrase series; all this has replaced our spirit to take God-sized risks.  Or worse, that is our idea of God sized risks. 

Lord, continue to convict my heart to never settle for doing church.  Give me your world view of the gospel message that will remain etched on my heart.  Please help me to work within the framework of a culture that desperately needs to know of your grace and merciful forgiveness. I don’t want to grow up and become content with this world or the things in it. Give me a heart for You and your Word. This is my prayer…

                                                                                                                 March 24, 2011

Lately I've been asked the question what's the difference betwen justification and sanctification.  So I thought I would post about those differences and help someone that may be struggling with this very important topic. Understanding the difference between justification and sanctification can be as important as understanding the difference between salvation and damnation. Rightly dividing between the two is of crucial importance. When you understand what they are, you can then draw a line in the sand and say, "This is what saves. This is not what saves."

Justification is the work of God where the righteousness of Jesus is reckoned to the sinner so the sinner is declared by God as being righteous under the Law (Rom. 4:3; 5:1,9; Gal. 2:16; 3:11). This righteousness is not earned or retained by any effort of the saved. Justification is an instantaneous occurrence with the result being eternal life. It is based completely and solely upon Jesus' sacrifice on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24) and is received by faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9). No works are necessary whatsoever to obtain justification. Otherwise, it is not a gift (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, we are justified by faith (Romans 5:1).

Sanctification, on the other hand, involves the work of the person. But it is still God working in the believer to produce more of a godly character and life in the person who has already been justified (Phil. 2:13). Sanctification is not instantaneous because it is not the work of God alone. The justified person is actively involved in submitting to God's will, resisting sin, seeking holiness, and working to be more godly (Gal. 5:22-23). Significantly, sanctification has no bearing on justification. That is, even if we don't live a perfect life, we are still justified.

Where justification is a legal declaration that is instantaneous, sanctification is a process. Where justification comes from outside of us, from God, sanctification comes from God within us by the work of the Holy Spirit in accordance with the Bible. In other words, we contribute to sanctification through our efforts. In contrast, we do not contribute to our justification through our efforts.

Does this mean that those justified by grace can sin as much as they want?

Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer in it?"

1 Thess. 4:7 says, "God has called us not for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification."

The Scriptures teach us that we are to live holy lives and avoid sin (Col. 1:5-11). Just because we are saved and eternally justified before God (John 10:28), that is no excuse to continue in the sin from which we were saved. Of course, we all sin (Rom. 3:23). But the war between the saved and sin is continuous (Rom. 7:14-20) and it won't be until the return of Jesus that we will be delivered from this body of death (Rom. 7:24). To seek sin continually and use God's grace to excuse it later is to trample the blood of Christ underfoot (Heb. 10:29) and to reveal the person's true sinful, unsaved nature (1 John 2:4; 2:19). (Other verses worth checking out are: Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:14-16; and 1 Pet. 2:21-22.)

What the cults do with justification and sanctification

The cults consistently blur the meanings of the two terms and misapply the truths taught in God's word. The result is a theology of works righteousness, of earning their salvation which only leads to damnation. This is because by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified (Gal. 2:16). Man cannot contribute to his salvation (Gal. 5:1-8). Man is sinful and even his best deeds are stained and filthy before God (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, making a person right before God can only be God's work (Gal. 2:20).

Typically, in cult theologies, a person is not justified (declared righteous in God's eyes) until the final day of judgment when his works are weighed and a reward is given or he is found worthy of his place with God. Thus, a person with this errant theology can not claim 1 John 5:13 as his own which says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God."

Contextually, "These things" refers to loving God, being obedient to Him, belief in Christ, and eternal life in Jesus. Therefore, 1 John 5:13 can be considered a test. If you are believing and doing the right things, then you will know if you have eternal life. Can a cultist know he has eternal life? No. He cannot. But a Christian can.

People in cults don't understand the difference between justification and sanctification. Therefore, they must depend upon a cooperative effort with God to have their sins forgiven which is, essentially, combining the filthy works of man (Isaiah 64:6) with the holy work of God. They don't mix. They can't. Hence, salvation is by grace through faith, alone. To believe anything else is to miss salvation.

For more clarity on this subject and others visit http://www.carm.org/ for a deeper look into theology and Chrisitian Apologetics. This post is not orginal to me but can be found at http://carm.org/justification-and-sanctification.

                                                                                                               February 15, 2011

A hush… No soft tones or even a whisper, but silence. A silence that lasts for far more than a night. Days, weeks and even months of wonder have left their stain. Wonder that resonated with the question of, "When  would I hear His voice again?". It is part of a journey that I contend every believer in Christ muddles through at some point or another. Its result is different for many and its purpose is even more mysterious for the truthful. The “Why’s?” and the “What for’s?” are inevitable in this season, but the answers remain so often left in the silence.

For the past six months I’ve been as silent on my blog as God has been with me. The sense of emptiness in the air has been suffocating at times and fascinating at others. And for those that truly know me they have witnessed my emotion and at times have wrestled with my responses. Many have prayed with me, however if honesty is present my omission is that many were simply praying for me. It has been a sort of tit-for-tat reality with me lately. Sadly, the idea of thinking that He doesn’t want to speak with me leads to the harmful nature of thinking that I just won’t speak to Him either. Selfishness that is rooted in pity is an ugly sight to behold, but it’s real.

Over the past seven months I have lived on the Big Island of Hawaii with nothing more than responsibility to a job. It is a job that for the most part I understand fairly well. I know the details that are involved and the requirements that it places on me, but nonetheless it has been a job. This job started with an unction that very few would understand. An unction that compelled me to leave a church that we were allowed to found, create and invest our lives in. Unction to leave a people that held our hearts and travel to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and start over. It was filled with confirmations of scripture and the affirmations of people that found their way into our lives. It was clear and yet far from comfortable. To many it was risky and audacious. To me it was just simply about obedience.

However, all that confirmation came before the silence. It was like hearing the voice of God right up to the moment that air filled the cabin of that Boeing 717 moments before deboarding on the runway of Kona International Airport. No warning, no reason, no explanation. I don’t have the privilege of saying that I handled this season of silence well. It’s more like this season has handled me. There have been better days than others with some moments of joy sprinkled throughout. Yet if I was asked to describe it with one word it would be relatively easy for me to do so… hard. I can hear you all the way from the Mainland, “It’s real hard to suffer in paradise” or “Stop whining already, you live in Hawaii.” The fact of the matter is that paradise without the voice of the Father is worse than years in the dessert with it.

This past week God showed me that Nehemiah lived in this silence for four months. With a heavy heart and a broken spirit he waited for God to open a door for a movement of His Spirit. For four months he prayed and fasted wondering what God would have him do. Desperately desiring to be more than a cup bearer to the king, he waited through the silence. We don’t see why it took four months nor do we understand what God was doing during the four months. The fact of the matter was that Nehemiah had an obligation to wait as patiently as he knew how knowing that any other course of action could cost him his life before the king. Nehemiah was brought to a place of understanding that regardless of what he thought he could accomplish in his own heart, his dreams were pointless without the hand of the Father being upon him. History shows that because of an edict formally signed by the King eleven years prior there was absolutely nothing Nehemiah could have done without the king’s permission. Not only did he need the king’s permission he needed his blessing. This blessing would have to go beyond the approval of an idea, but would require the resources and support necessary to accomplish it.

Did you hear that? That was the sound silence makes when it breaks after a long pause. I’m finding that silence breaks when there is willingness, and maybe even desperation of sorts, to place God’s voice above the voice of our own personal pursuits. God’s showing me that my plans and ambition are being thwarted by the need for Godly blessing. It’s understanding that my job isn’t about me or my thoughts of glorified pursuits, but about God’s Kingdom being furthered for His name, not mine. It’s finding room for Him to move and accomplish His desires in me and through me. It's waiting, trusting, praying, and seeing the moment to testify on behalf of the one true King.