While reading Answers magazine the other day, I stumbled upon an article that is quite the call to action. This video is a very sobering account from an atheistic comedian who was given an incredible gift, and contains some good lessons for communicating with people who seem hostile to God.
*Disclaimer* Penn's other YouTube clips are not recommended for viewing, due to their crude and profane content.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Remember and be Enraptured
Looking up at the sunset one summer evening, turning the sky to gold; magnifying itself, as every other thing, every blade of grass, becomes immersed in ever-darkening shadow. The clouds, soft victory banners in crimson and gold, announce the Sun's glorious departure. There is no helping but to glory in the moment.
In times like these I feel that I have found my place, that I am beginning to realize how small I truly am. My mind knows that even the piercing beauty of creation; the deafening roar of thunder, the heights of the stars, the depths of the mighty oceans- can never be more beautiful, mighty, lofty, or deep than the Lord. My soul confirms this truth, making the beauty seen even more beautiful as my mind expands in the knowledge of a great and unimaginable hope. God is greater than anything my perception or even emotions can experience, but even still, I find that God can use created things to deepen my understanding of Him. In the resplendency of a beautiful sunset or a glorious mountain range, I am swept away, not only by the things I behold through my eyes, but the deeper truth that I hear whispered in my soul. "I am greater far; I am more beautiful still". And knowing this truth, I treasure the memory of that beauty as a shadow of what is to come.
I have noticed that God often breaks through to my heart in the times when I come to a new realization of my smallness and inadequacy. Leaving for Europe from the Seattle airport back in March brought me one of those realizations. I was embarking on a journey much larger than me, with people I had never met. I didn't know what was ahead, but God did, and I could rest in that. With those thoughts in my mind, I looked down at the people below. How small they were! And how numerous! And here I was far up in the sky, so separate from their struggles and joys. It came to me that God sees everyone at once, just as I was seeing those hundreds of scurrying people below. I could be - should be- seen just as another minuscule ant on the pavement, but instead God looks into my heart and loves me. And not only me, but the whole world! It is such an elementary truth of the faith, but at that moment it blasted through to reality for me. I go through life at times as if I am the center of the universe, but in reality, I am just a speck of dust traversing this little blue marble. At the same moment as these truths were sinking in, God was impressing his love upon me. Despite the smallness and self-centered atttitude of the human race, he loved us and died for us, in order to fill these poor earthen vessels with the living, breathing, Spirit of God. Marvelous!
Sadly, these moments of spiritual realization come far too seldom. There are times when I am swept away in the monotony and busyness of the everyday. I dutifully take in knowledge of the truth, but I do not do it in Spirit. This past week, God has been impressing two themes into my mind: to "Remember", and to be "Enraptured". Reading through Exodus, I was confronted with the constant mandates to build monuments of remembrance to the faithfulness of God. Remembering helps to keep our faith alive in the desert. It reminds us that God's promises are not void. It reminds us that his love is true and constant, regardless of the dimness created by blinding circumstances. Remembering keeps us looking ahead with childlike faith. This childlike faith helps us go through life with wonder, reveling in beautiful truths that we do not fully understand. And this is where the word "enraptured" comes in. In Revelation 2:3-5, Jesus delivers words of praise and rebuke to the church of Ephesus. "You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first." In Matthew 18:2-4, Jesus has some humbling and wonderful words to say: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
I will conclude with a quote by Samuel Chadwick "Why does the church stay indoors? They have a theology that has dwindled to philosophy, in which there is not thrill of faith, no terror of doom and no concern for souls. Unbelief has put out the fires of passion, and worldliness garlands that altar of sacrifice with the tawdry glitter of unreality"
In times like these I feel that I have found my place, that I am beginning to realize how small I truly am. My mind knows that even the piercing beauty of creation; the deafening roar of thunder, the heights of the stars, the depths of the mighty oceans- can never be more beautiful, mighty, lofty, or deep than the Lord. My soul confirms this truth, making the beauty seen even more beautiful as my mind expands in the knowledge of a great and unimaginable hope. God is greater than anything my perception or even emotions can experience, but even still, I find that God can use created things to deepen my understanding of Him. In the resplendency of a beautiful sunset or a glorious mountain range, I am swept away, not only by the things I behold through my eyes, but the deeper truth that I hear whispered in my soul. "I am greater far; I am more beautiful still". And knowing this truth, I treasure the memory of that beauty as a shadow of what is to come.
I have noticed that God often breaks through to my heart in the times when I come to a new realization of my smallness and inadequacy. Leaving for Europe from the Seattle airport back in March brought me one of those realizations. I was embarking on a journey much larger than me, with people I had never met. I didn't know what was ahead, but God did, and I could rest in that. With those thoughts in my mind, I looked down at the people below. How small they were! And how numerous! And here I was far up in the sky, so separate from their struggles and joys. It came to me that God sees everyone at once, just as I was seeing those hundreds of scurrying people below. I could be - should be- seen just as another minuscule ant on the pavement, but instead God looks into my heart and loves me. And not only me, but the whole world! It is such an elementary truth of the faith, but at that moment it blasted through to reality for me. I go through life at times as if I am the center of the universe, but in reality, I am just a speck of dust traversing this little blue marble. At the same moment as these truths were sinking in, God was impressing his love upon me. Despite the smallness and self-centered atttitude of the human race, he loved us and died for us, in order to fill these poor earthen vessels with the living, breathing, Spirit of God. Marvelous!
Sadly, these moments of spiritual realization come far too seldom. There are times when I am swept away in the monotony and busyness of the everyday. I dutifully take in knowledge of the truth, but I do not do it in Spirit. This past week, God has been impressing two themes into my mind: to "Remember", and to be "Enraptured". Reading through Exodus, I was confronted with the constant mandates to build monuments of remembrance to the faithfulness of God. Remembering helps to keep our faith alive in the desert. It reminds us that God's promises are not void. It reminds us that his love is true and constant, regardless of the dimness created by blinding circumstances. Remembering keeps us looking ahead with childlike faith. This childlike faith helps us go through life with wonder, reveling in beautiful truths that we do not fully understand. And this is where the word "enraptured" comes in. In Revelation 2:3-5, Jesus delivers words of praise and rebuke to the church of Ephesus. "You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first." In Matthew 18:2-4, Jesus has some humbling and wonderful words to say: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
I will conclude with a quote by Samuel Chadwick "Why does the church stay indoors? They have a theology that has dwindled to philosophy, in which there is not thrill of faith, no terror of doom and no concern for souls. Unbelief has put out the fires of passion, and worldliness garlands that altar of sacrifice with the tawdry glitter of unreality"
Thursday, June 3, 2010
As In a Mirror
How do we know God?
By looking at a picture of a person, do you know them? Can you have a relationship by only knowing the outside of a person? The body is not the person. The person is the spirit within, the thoughts and dreams and spiritual attributes. The true person guides the deeds and motions of the body- without the spirit, the body is dust, and without life. To know a person then, there must be a communication of the things of the heart.
God, on the other hand, is spirit. “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24) While it is true that the church is his body on earth, (1 Cor 12:27) we are imperfect human beings, while Christ, the head who is physically unseen, is perfect. He is fully alive, truly a person, unencumbered by the flesh. And yet Jesus came to wear the weakness of a human body. He became as dust to be glorified once again, bringing believers to eternal life through the glory of his resurrection!
How do we know this God? Can we see Him through His creation? Certainly, in a small way. But creation is such a small and fallen reflection of who God is. People are the only beings made “in the image of God”. But even at that, we are only created beings. By sin, the image of God in us has been all but destroyed, and by Adam's fall the whole world is subjected to sin's destructive influence. God is not his creation, any more than an artist is his painting. An artist paints a landscape, but by looking at that painting afterward would you know the artist? That is, would you have a relationship with the artist, with the artist knowing you as well as you knowing the artist? Art is certainly an expression of the soul of the artist, but it is not the artist himself. Likewise, God expresses part of who he is through nature, but appreciating the artwork doesn't translate to knowing what the artist looks like. If you already know the artist, you may find that you know them better after studying their work. You won't get far doing it the other way around because you will only be imagining what the artist is like. The essential part of the relationship, direct communication, will be lacking.
The communication that is so essential to truly knowing God is found through His Word. He has written a letter to all who will read it, and has given an interpreter, the Holy Spirit, to help us understand and live out those words. We are certainly well equipped. Not only are we freed from sin's lordship, but we have a letter filled with assurance and love, the Holy Spirit who is God living in us, and a promise of eternal life with God.
Why is it so hard to feel God's presence? Why do we find the Bible so dry and worldly entertainment so appealing? Why do we worry about our future on earth and fail to be excited about our inheritance in heaven? Why do we concern ourselves over our grades and salaries more than the salvation of the lost? May I propose that our relationship with God is lacking. We fail to listen and don't understand why he isn't speaking. What is our priority today? Is the station of our heart tuned in to his, or is the static of this world weakening the signal? Perhaps we need to become familiar with his voice once again by reading the words he has written to our hearts through the Bible.
May this be our cry! “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.” (Psalm 119:18-20)
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17)
By looking at a picture of a person, do you know them? Can you have a relationship by only knowing the outside of a person? The body is not the person. The person is the spirit within, the thoughts and dreams and spiritual attributes. The true person guides the deeds and motions of the body- without the spirit, the body is dust, and without life. To know a person then, there must be a communication of the things of the heart.
God, on the other hand, is spirit. “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24) While it is true that the church is his body on earth, (1 Cor 12:27) we are imperfect human beings, while Christ, the head who is physically unseen, is perfect. He is fully alive, truly a person, unencumbered by the flesh. And yet Jesus came to wear the weakness of a human body. He became as dust to be glorified once again, bringing believers to eternal life through the glory of his resurrection!
How do we know this God? Can we see Him through His creation? Certainly, in a small way. But creation is such a small and fallen reflection of who God is. People are the only beings made “in the image of God”. But even at that, we are only created beings. By sin, the image of God in us has been all but destroyed, and by Adam's fall the whole world is subjected to sin's destructive influence. God is not his creation, any more than an artist is his painting. An artist paints a landscape, but by looking at that painting afterward would you know the artist? That is, would you have a relationship with the artist, with the artist knowing you as well as you knowing the artist? Art is certainly an expression of the soul of the artist, but it is not the artist himself. Likewise, God expresses part of who he is through nature, but appreciating the artwork doesn't translate to knowing what the artist looks like. If you already know the artist, you may find that you know them better after studying their work. You won't get far doing it the other way around because you will only be imagining what the artist is like. The essential part of the relationship, direct communication, will be lacking.
The communication that is so essential to truly knowing God is found through His Word. He has written a letter to all who will read it, and has given an interpreter, the Holy Spirit, to help us understand and live out those words. We are certainly well equipped. Not only are we freed from sin's lordship, but we have a letter filled with assurance and love, the Holy Spirit who is God living in us, and a promise of eternal life with God.
Why is it so hard to feel God's presence? Why do we find the Bible so dry and worldly entertainment so appealing? Why do we worry about our future on earth and fail to be excited about our inheritance in heaven? Why do we concern ourselves over our grades and salaries more than the salvation of the lost? May I propose that our relationship with God is lacking. We fail to listen and don't understand why he isn't speaking. What is our priority today? Is the station of our heart tuned in to his, or is the static of this world weakening the signal? Perhaps we need to become familiar with his voice once again by reading the words he has written to our hearts through the Bible.
May this be our cry! “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commands from me. My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times.” (Psalm 119:18-20)
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17)
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