My wife and I have a coffee plant named Clarence. My mom gave him to us the week before our wedding. I remember thinking a tropical plant like Clarence couldn't survive in a climate like ours, but appreciated the gift.
Despite my skepticism, Clarence has enjoyed his Tennessean home and grown over twice his original height since he came to live with us. My wife and I high five every time a new leaf sprouts and dream about roasting our first cup of anniversary coffee in about three years.
Over the last few months, we didn't see any new leaves on Clarence. He just sat there, green as ever, soaking in water and sunlight. But I was anxious to see more growth. I wanted him to become the coffee plant I pictured in my mind. Meanwhile, I failed to notice how his stem had thickened.
When God takes me through periods of growth, I feel energized and want to write fifty posts on what I learn. Those periods may cause me discomfort, but I know God is at work.
When I don't see any change in my life for a long period of time, I worry about my lack of visible growth. Am I becoming lukewarm? Have I acted to casually about my faith? Do I listen to God enough? How much of my house is built on sand? And so on.
My life as a Christian has more angst than I'd like to admit. Looking at where I am in life, I can obsess over how I'm not where I want to be while overlooking how far God has brought me. I keep looking for new leaves without noticing the strength building in my roots and stem.
I feel I should tell you I know my righteousness doesn't depend on how well I behave. Hebrews 10:1-11 explains how all the sacrifices and religious rituals could never make a person righteous. Only the payment Jesus made by offering himself as a sacrifice made it possible for us to have lasting righteousness.
Then verse 14 says, "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."
In that sentence, I see a few things. First, Jesus does the real work. My role in that verse is passive. He has perfected. I am being sanctified. At most, I think my effort goes into responding to the work the Holy Spirit does in me. Second, I see that while I still go through a process of sanctification (that is, the act of being made holy), I am made perfect by Christ's perfect offering. I'm already holy while God makes me holy.
The last sentence may have sounded contradictory, but look at Clarence. He is a coffee plant, even though he's still becoming a plant that makes coffee. I might obsess over the change in his process of becoming a plant that will one day produce coffee, but he's already a coffee plant. I know in my head it will take years for him to make even the smallest batch of beans. In the meantime, his roots go deep.
I may not always have a thrilling story to tell people of what God's doing in my life. It's not all sprouting leaves. There are long periods of time where God works on my roots, my foundation, and reassuringly tells me "You're good. You're good."
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
A Defining Characteristic Of Christianity.
I don't know if someone out there has a list of reasons why to like Christianity, but I'll say this next reason lands at #12. Why #12? I wore it in little league. Now you know.
Reason #12 why I like Christianity came to me while I read Isaiah 46:3-4. It says, "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save."
Think about the above passage as if God said this about you:
"Listen (your name), I came up with the idea of you before you were born. I will take care of you from conception to death. Never at any point in your life will I not help you and carry you."
God might not use a double negative like that, but whatever. Aesop said God helps those who help themselves. God here simply says he helps you in everything throughout your entire life.
Over the last few years, I've written plenty of posts taking shots at my Baptist upbringing. But strict, behavior-focused, follow-the-rules-for-holiness lifestyles exist outside of Baptist churches. Maybe the Assemblies Of God church I attended in middle school had more fun singing and dancing during meetings, but they still didn't want me to go to the movies.
Most, if not every, world religion tells people to do and say certain things to achieve holiness. In Isaiah 46:1-2, God points out how the idols of the surrounding culture place burdens on people and offer no help or freedom. Then God says, "I'm not like that. I want to take those burdens from you. I want to carry you through the hard days you encounter. I want to do the work of your salvation."
Reason #12? I like Christianity because God doesn't expect me to live a perfect life. He wants me to pursue Him and allow Him to do the rest.
Reason #12 why I like Christianity came to me while I read Isaiah 46:3-4. It says, "Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save."
Think about the above passage as if God said this about you:
"Listen (your name), I came up with the idea of you before you were born. I will take care of you from conception to death. Never at any point in your life will I not help you and carry you."
God might not use a double negative like that, but whatever. Aesop said God helps those who help themselves. God here simply says he helps you in everything throughout your entire life.
Over the last few years, I've written plenty of posts taking shots at my Baptist upbringing. But strict, behavior-focused, follow-the-rules-for-holiness lifestyles exist outside of Baptist churches. Maybe the Assemblies Of God church I attended in middle school had more fun singing and dancing during meetings, but they still didn't want me to go to the movies.
Most, if not every, world religion tells people to do and say certain things to achieve holiness. In Isaiah 46:1-2, God points out how the idols of the surrounding culture place burdens on people and offer no help or freedom. Then God says, "I'm not like that. I want to take those burdens from you. I want to carry you through the hard days you encounter. I want to do the work of your salvation."
Reason #12? I like Christianity because God doesn't expect me to live a perfect life. He wants me to pursue Him and allow Him to do the rest.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Praising God When I Don't Feel Like It
Please read the sentence after this next one. During my freshman year of college, I had to take a course called "Ordinary Citizens In Nazi Germany" as a part of my orientation. The class discussed how an educated society could agree to support a man like Hitler and what we should learn from it today.
The class wholly bummed me out. Like, we had a solid week of critiquing propaganda films followed by a week of holocaust footage. During a Michigan winter? You try to stay cheerful.
Before each class, I began to listen to The Promise Ring's "Why Did We Ever Meet?" By "listen", I mean "dance around the room and sing at top volume". In my mind, I was defying the winter, the horrible class videos, and my crusty professor's emotionless, mustachioed commentary.
And for the mile-long walk from my dorm to the humanities building, my plan worked. I chose to sing something uplifting despite how I actually felt, and it made me feel better.
I didn't come up with this idea. In Psalm 42, the writer says, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Doesn't that make you stop for a minute? In this worship song, the writer reassures himself he will praise God again in the middle of the song!
A friend once told me he didn't sing during times of worship because he seldom felt honest singing along. "If I don't feel like praising God, then why would I sing 'I will praise you'?" At the time, I couldn't argue with him. But now I see the flaw in his thinking. I mean, thirteen years later, but still, I see it now.
The Psalmist sang praise and worship to God even when he acknowledged his real feelings. I sang and danced because I wanted my feelings to change.
But more than this, it's a question of who or what we think deserves our worship. If you were to choose to honor how you felt over honoring God, then aren't you worshiping your feelings? Haven't you made your emotions your god?
Have you ever felt like you didn't want to worship God? What did you do?
Friday, August 3, 2012
Letting Transformation Happen - Or, how I learned to look at Romans 12:2 in a new way
As a person who sometimes writes words, I try to pay attention to grammar. I mean, sometimes I try to pay attention to grammar. Other times, I toss formality to the side and say to heck with it.
Thanks to great English teachers, though, I gained a keen awareness of overusing passive tense. See how I tried to avoid the landmine there? "I am keenly aware" to "I gained a keen awareness", aaaand sidestep...
But sometimes we need to use passive tense. Sometimes it's the best way to say what needs to be said. Like the two passives in that last sentence. And now two sentence fragments which would probably have passives. Did anyone else start counting? Okay, I'll stop doing that now.
As I prepared my discussion notes for a youth group meeting, I learned how Paul intentionally worded Romans 12:2. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
In Enjoying God's Grace, Terry Virgo highlights the phrase "be transformed" and says this comes through God's work in us. At various stages of my life, I've taken this verse to mean I had to try very hard to renew my mind by changing my behavior. Without exception, this led to disappointment. My behavior couldn't bring me salvation, so how could I expect it to sanctify me as well?
I had one of the youths read Proverbs 23:6-7 and we talked about how our thoughts reflect what's in our heart. And if I've learned anything about grace, I've learned I need to let God change my heart.
So how do we let God transform our hearts and our minds? One youth said we have to have a humble and responsive attitude to whatever God might put on our hearts. In other words, don't resist the changes He wants to do in you.
Anyone else out there try really hard to change themselves? Have you ever experienced God changing your heart and mind outside of your own effort?
Thanks to great English teachers, though, I gained a keen awareness of overusing passive tense. See how I tried to avoid the landmine there? "I am keenly aware" to "I gained a keen awareness", aaaand sidestep...
But sometimes we need to use passive tense. Sometimes it's the best way to say what needs to be said. Like the two passives in that last sentence. And now two sentence fragments which would probably have passives. Did anyone else start counting? Okay, I'll stop doing that now.
As I prepared my discussion notes for a youth group meeting, I learned how Paul intentionally worded Romans 12:2. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
In Enjoying God's Grace, Terry Virgo highlights the phrase "be transformed" and says this comes through God's work in us. At various stages of my life, I've taken this verse to mean I had to try very hard to renew my mind by changing my behavior. Without exception, this led to disappointment. My behavior couldn't bring me salvation, so how could I expect it to sanctify me as well?
I had one of the youths read Proverbs 23:6-7 and we talked about how our thoughts reflect what's in our heart. And if I've learned anything about grace, I've learned I need to let God change my heart.
So how do we let God transform our hearts and our minds? One youth said we have to have a humble and responsive attitude to whatever God might put on our hearts. In other words, don't resist the changes He wants to do in you.
Anyone else out there try really hard to change themselves? Have you ever experienced God changing your heart and mind outside of your own effort?
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Why Should I Listen For What God Has To Say?
To anyone who has read the Press for any length of time, you should know I believe God still speaks to people. Sometimes, the things God says are useful for other people. Prophets, by and large, are not always men with unkempt beards in the desert. Sometimes they look like my friend, Sean.
About four years ago, Sean told me he felt like God wanted him to tell me something. He handled it very well. First, he prayed about what he heard for several days. Second, he asked other leaders in the church what they thought of the word and if they thought he should share it with me. But that's just an aside. I want to focus more on what he actually said.
"God knows you want to serve Him as your Lord. But I think God wants you to know Him as your father."
Every so often, I would pray about this word and get a little more understanding each time. The other night, A light clicked when I heard someone read John 15:15.
"No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you."
We do still serve God, sure. Just before, in verse 14, Jesus says, "You are my friends if you do what I command you." At first, this might sound like the neighborhood bully giving you orders and threatening to not be friends with you if you refuse. But if we know God in terms intimate enough to call Him friend and father, then we would also know who He is and what authority He holds.
I have a very good relationship with my dad. Like most dads out there, he used to expect me to obey him without justifying his reasons. But there came a point where he stopped using the "do it because I told you" line and started letting me in on the big picture. Despite my tendency to argue, seeing his vision for what we needed to accomplish motivated me to follow his plan.
And so, God speaks to His friends. Learning how to hear is one thing, learning to listen another, and understanding His heart behind the words yet another. When we read a command in the Bible or feel the Holy Spirit put something on our hearts, we can have the assurance it comes from a close friend and loving father who wants us to join in what He does in the world.
This is why I want people to know how to hear what God has to say.
We do still serve God, sure. Just before, in verse 14, Jesus says, "You are my friends if you do what I command you." At first, this might sound like the neighborhood bully giving you orders and threatening to not be friends with you if you refuse. But if we know God in terms intimate enough to call Him friend and father, then we would also know who He is and what authority He holds.
I have a very good relationship with my dad. Like most dads out there, he used to expect me to obey him without justifying his reasons. But there came a point where he stopped using the "do it because I told you" line and started letting me in on the big picture. Despite my tendency to argue, seeing his vision for what we needed to accomplish motivated me to follow his plan.
And so, God speaks to His friends. Learning how to hear is one thing, learning to listen another, and understanding His heart behind the words yet another. When we read a command in the Bible or feel the Holy Spirit put something on our hearts, we can have the assurance it comes from a close friend and loving father who wants us to join in what He does in the world.
This is why I want people to know how to hear what God has to say.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Is It Possible To Understand The Bible?
Nearly every social group, whether among friends or coworkers, has someone who knows everything. That isn't to say the person actually does know everything, but they definitely talk as if they do. Cars? They've fixed every problem with their brother-in-law's toolkit. Computers? Yeah, they took a class. Russian literature? You know you're in for an earful when they open by spelling "Dostoevsky" (me? I Googled it).
Recently, it occurred to me why every group has a know-it-all. Because to some degree, we're all know-it-alls. Maybe we don't pretend to have a grip on mathematics or global economics, but we will exhibit a deep well of hubris when it comes to subjects familiar to us.
Jesus dealt with this attitude all the time. Pharisees, (the lawyers) for example. They knew the words of the Bible and all kinds of loopholes in the Law. But they missed the point of the Bible, the purpose of the Law. Zealots (the Tea Party types) probably memorized every possible scripture foretelling the coming Messiah. But instead of a political upheaval, they got a humble teacher who told them it wouldn't happen the way they thought or when they thought it should.
Now, anyone could easily read this and try to say interpretation messes with the truth of the Bible. Or maybe they would say the Bible never made sense in the first place.
I may be in the minority when I say this, but I think the Bible might only make sense when God explains it.
Luke 24 tells the story of two men walking to Emmaus after Jesus has died and talking about the reports of his resurrection. Jesus appears next to them and joins the conversation, but verse 16 says "their eyes were kept from recognizing him." Jesus asks them what they're talking about, and one of the men replies, "Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" Jesus plays dumb and asks, "What things?" The men begin to tell Jesus about... Jesus, and how they hoped He would be the one to save them. Then, they go on to tell him about some weird reports of how He had come back to life.
Jesus, still unrecognized, says, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And going all the way back to the books Moses had written and all the prophetic books, Jesus explained how all the scriptures pointed to what had just happened in Jerusalem.
It wasn't until they had walked together over seven miles and sat down to dinner that "their eyes were opened, and they recognized him."
A lot of Christians might consider Paul one of the smartest people who ever lived. A Roman-era Ben Stein. He studied under the best Bible teachers and gained respect with the Jewish leaders. We're not told this explicitly in the Bible, but I'll bet he was the know-it-all in his group of friends.
Long after Paul's conversion, he told the Corinthian church, "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."
I don't want to claim the Bible can only benefit someone by way of a mystical experience. The people following Jesus, Paul, the Zealots, and the Pharisees all gained good knowledge from God's word. By hearing and reading scripture, they gained more knowledge, not less. However, the knowledge doesn't seem to make sense as a whole unless the Spirit reveals the meaning.
Do you have trouble understanding the Bible? Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit reveal something to you in it?
Recently, it occurred to me why every group has a know-it-all. Because to some degree, we're all know-it-alls. Maybe we don't pretend to have a grip on mathematics or global economics, but we will exhibit a deep well of hubris when it comes to subjects familiar to us.
Jesus dealt with this attitude all the time. Pharisees, (the lawyers) for example. They knew the words of the Bible and all kinds of loopholes in the Law. But they missed the point of the Bible, the purpose of the Law. Zealots (the Tea Party types) probably memorized every possible scripture foretelling the coming Messiah. But instead of a political upheaval, they got a humble teacher who told them it wouldn't happen the way they thought or when they thought it should.
Now, anyone could easily read this and try to say interpretation messes with the truth of the Bible. Or maybe they would say the Bible never made sense in the first place.
I may be in the minority when I say this, but I think the Bible might only make sense when God explains it.
Luke 24 tells the story of two men walking to Emmaus after Jesus has died and talking about the reports of his resurrection. Jesus appears next to them and joins the conversation, but verse 16 says "their eyes were kept from recognizing him." Jesus asks them what they're talking about, and one of the men replies, "Are you the only visitor in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" Jesus plays dumb and asks, "What things?" The men begin to tell Jesus about... Jesus, and how they hoped He would be the one to save them. Then, they go on to tell him about some weird reports of how He had come back to life.
Jesus, still unrecognized, says, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And going all the way back to the books Moses had written and all the prophetic books, Jesus explained how all the scriptures pointed to what had just happened in Jerusalem.
It wasn't until they had walked together over seven miles and sat down to dinner that "their eyes were opened, and they recognized him."
A lot of Christians might consider Paul one of the smartest people who ever lived. A Roman-era Ben Stein. He studied under the best Bible teachers and gained respect with the Jewish leaders. We're not told this explicitly in the Bible, but I'll bet he was the know-it-all in his group of friends.
Long after Paul's conversion, he told the Corinthian church, "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned."
I don't want to claim the Bible can only benefit someone by way of a mystical experience. The people following Jesus, Paul, the Zealots, and the Pharisees all gained good knowledge from God's word. By hearing and reading scripture, they gained more knowledge, not less. However, the knowledge doesn't seem to make sense as a whole unless the Spirit reveals the meaning.
Do you have trouble understanding the Bible? Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit reveal something to you in it?
Monday, June 25, 2012
It's Important To Remember How To Live Life And Not Only Write About It.
Ahhhh... That was nice. Anybody still there? Well, if you are, we might have more fun now.
As I'm sure many weblog writers know, I arrived at a point where I wasn't living life so much as I compiled content interesting enough to write. Imagine the state of my faith when I only read the Bible to find my next weblog post, and when I only prayed to hear God give me some new insight I could share with my tiny group of readers.
Then after hearing a message from Francis Chan at Verge 2012, I decided to take some time to remember what it felt like to read and pray just so I could experience God's presence. It was good to get away from finding ways to make myself interesting by talking about God and instead become interested in God Himself again.
But I'm currently preparing a post I think someone may need to read. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Worshiping Exhausted
This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to lead the Lifehouse Nashville worship team. The week leading up to Sunday sucked out nearly all of my energy and I saw the rest of my team dragging a little as well. At the end of rehearsal, I asked, "Who here's exhausted?" Everyone raised their hands.
We went to an empty room to pray together and I said, "So we're all wiped out. What better time to worship?"
I'll admit I often ignore my early morning alarm instead of getting up to spend time with God. My excuse usually has something to do with how tired I feel. But if I think about it, I find so much rest when I enter into God's presence.
In Psalm 84:10, the Sons of Korah famously sang, "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness."
Last Sunday, I realized if I had to choose between serving in worship or sitting around somewhere to "rest", I would rather worship. If I need to choose between sleeping for an extra half hour and waking up to hear from the Holy Spirit, I would probably find more energy talking to the God of the universe.
When you're exhausted, what do you?
We went to an empty room to pray together and I said, "So we're all wiped out. What better time to worship?"
I'll admit I often ignore my early morning alarm instead of getting up to spend time with God. My excuse usually has something to do with how tired I feel. But if I think about it, I find so much rest when I enter into God's presence.
In Psalm 84:10, the Sons of Korah famously sang, "For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness."
Last Sunday, I realized if I had to choose between serving in worship or sitting around somewhere to "rest", I would rather worship. If I need to choose between sleeping for an extra half hour and waking up to hear from the Holy Spirit, I would probably find more energy talking to the God of the universe.
When you're exhausted, what do you?
Thursday, May 17, 2012
What's The Goal Of Being A Christian? - Part seven of Questions From the Lifehouse Youth Group
Last night, I asked the youths at Lifehouse a question every Christian should consider. We read 2 Timothy 2:4-6. "No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops."
These three people, the soldier, athlete, and farmer all work hard. But they have motivation to reach a goal. The soldier wants to please his superior officer. The athlete wants to become a champion and win his contest. The farmer works hard so he has a good crop. But what's the goal of being a Christian? A few said, "telling other people about Jesus."
Telling people about Jesus is good, I replied. Jesus himself commissioned us to do just that. But why would Jesus want us to tell people about him?
Some other youths suggested, "So we can go to heaven?" One even said, "So we can have all that great stuff up there."
I decided to stay away from breaking down the idea of Beverly Hills Heaven. Instead, I remembered something I had heard from John Piper a few years ago. "What if you could go to Heaven and know for certain you would have the sweetest house, with the best skatepark and a chocolate fountain? What if you could never feel pain again and see all of your dead loved ones? If Jesus wasn't there, would you still want to go?"
Some of them immediately responded with "No", but I really appreciated one of the guys saying, "Well, I know the right answer is 'no', but I don't always think about it that way."
How many of us do think of it this way?
Maybe the goal of a Christian is simply to know God and have a relationship with Him. Maybe the goal of evangelism is so we can introduce other people to God and help them to know Him. I told the youths, "Don't read your Bible or pray or come to church just because you think you have to. At the same time, you won't have much of a relationship with God if you don't put any effort in getting to know Him. We should do the stuff because we want to know Him."
What do you think is the goal of Christianity?
These three people, the soldier, athlete, and farmer all work hard. But they have motivation to reach a goal. The soldier wants to please his superior officer. The athlete wants to become a champion and win his contest. The farmer works hard so he has a good crop. But what's the goal of being a Christian? A few said, "telling other people about Jesus."
Telling people about Jesus is good, I replied. Jesus himself commissioned us to do just that. But why would Jesus want us to tell people about him?
Some other youths suggested, "So we can go to heaven?" One even said, "So we can have all that great stuff up there."
I decided to stay away from breaking down the idea of Beverly Hills Heaven. Instead, I remembered something I had heard from John Piper a few years ago. "What if you could go to Heaven and know for certain you would have the sweetest house, with the best skatepark and a chocolate fountain? What if you could never feel pain again and see all of your dead loved ones? If Jesus wasn't there, would you still want to go?"
Some of them immediately responded with "No", but I really appreciated one of the guys saying, "Well, I know the right answer is 'no', but I don't always think about it that way."
How many of us do think of it this way?
Maybe the goal of a Christian is simply to know God and have a relationship with Him. Maybe the goal of evangelism is so we can introduce other people to God and help them to know Him. I told the youths, "Don't read your Bible or pray or come to church just because you think you have to. At the same time, you won't have much of a relationship with God if you don't put any effort in getting to know Him. We should do the stuff because we want to know Him."
What do you think is the goal of Christianity?
Friday, May 11, 2012
Redefining The Pursuit Of Happiness
As a rule, I don't spend much time talking about current events. This rule helps me in two ways. First, I don't want people to expect it from me and ask questions like "How do you feel about the election" or "Where do you stand on the subject of ___". I didn't start the Press so I could comment on politics, pop culture, or any other hot button discussion.
Second, staying out of these discussions helps me to stay on topic. Jesus changed my life and God talks to me through the Holy Spirit. It's an utterly basic Christian statement that confuses the hell out of people, even some Christians. So I attempt to use the Press to explain what this means and what I have learned through it.
That said, I'm not completely oblivious to what goes on in the world. I do think about it in private. But even in private, when I talk to God, I ask Him to help me understand how I feel about the situation and I ask Him what He thinks. Typically, we end up talking about the issues behind the issues. The source and not the topic.
There are a lot of intense stories going on in the world today. I could join the chorus of comments I see in my social media feeds, but I don't, you know, want to. I'd rather talk about something more universal than a particular news item. I want to talk about people trying to find happiness, and why it makes for either the best stories or the most tragic news.
When I hear about someone's drug problem, crushing debt, divorce, etc, I feel a weird mixture of sadness and compassion. I feel bad for their situation, but I also feel compassion because I know why they made those decisions. They, like me, like everyone, want to find happiness. I'd say this makes up the driving force behind a lot of the choices we make.
The question is, where do we find our happiness? Is it in our own pleasure and comfort? Is it in a long and healthy life? I think many people would say so. So they try whatever might offer to give them these things. They try marriage, and when that gets hard, divorce. They try vitamins and positive thinking, or they try drugs. They try buying comfort or a particular lifestyle, even if they can't afford it.
To sum it up, they look at where they are in life, see their unhappiness, and decide to do whatever might change the situation. Of course, some of these decisions are huge, and I mean life-altering.
Making these kinds of decisions can be exhilarating, but they're often joyless in the end. Years ago, I used to think I was unhappy because I felt lonely. So I got myself into a few unhappy relationships. When I saw these didn't work, I thought maybe I just needed to commit to someone. That led me to an unhappy engagement. Thankfully, I recognized the insanity before it led to an unhappy marriage.
We've all done this. We continuously try to add stuff to our lives, hoping to find happiness with the next thing. And eventually, we end up like this:
Could this be a parable? Are we like Steve Martin? Do we treat God like Bernadette Peters as we walk away, collecting our empty pleasures? Have our good intentions ruined us and made everyone cross-eyed?
All this has kept bringing Jeremiah 2:13 to mind. God confronted Israel and said, "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water."
God offers us life and wants us to find our happiness with Him. Instead, we've chosen to find these things on our own. From the moment Adam and Eve decided they knew a better way to life and happiness, mankind has lived in misery. Instead of going back to the source of true joy, we dig. And unless we realize everything we make cracks and crumbles, we'll keep digging, hoping to make something out of it.
So as I read all the news that's fit to tweet, I think about what Jesus said in Luke 9:23-25. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
Second, staying out of these discussions helps me to stay on topic. Jesus changed my life and God talks to me through the Holy Spirit. It's an utterly basic Christian statement that confuses the hell out of people, even some Christians. So I attempt to use the Press to explain what this means and what I have learned through it.
That said, I'm not completely oblivious to what goes on in the world. I do think about it in private. But even in private, when I talk to God, I ask Him to help me understand how I feel about the situation and I ask Him what He thinks. Typically, we end up talking about the issues behind the issues. The source and not the topic.
There are a lot of intense stories going on in the world today. I could join the chorus of comments I see in my social media feeds, but I don't, you know, want to. I'd rather talk about something more universal than a particular news item. I want to talk about people trying to find happiness, and why it makes for either the best stories or the most tragic news.
When I hear about someone's drug problem, crushing debt, divorce, etc, I feel a weird mixture of sadness and compassion. I feel bad for their situation, but I also feel compassion because I know why they made those decisions. They, like me, like everyone, want to find happiness. I'd say this makes up the driving force behind a lot of the choices we make.
The question is, where do we find our happiness? Is it in our own pleasure and comfort? Is it in a long and healthy life? I think many people would say so. So they try whatever might offer to give them these things. They try marriage, and when that gets hard, divorce. They try vitamins and positive thinking, or they try drugs. They try buying comfort or a particular lifestyle, even if they can't afford it.
To sum it up, they look at where they are in life, see their unhappiness, and decide to do whatever might change the situation. Of course, some of these decisions are huge, and I mean life-altering.
Making these kinds of decisions can be exhilarating, but they're often joyless in the end. Years ago, I used to think I was unhappy because I felt lonely. So I got myself into a few unhappy relationships. When I saw these didn't work, I thought maybe I just needed to commit to someone. That led me to an unhappy engagement. Thankfully, I recognized the insanity before it led to an unhappy marriage.
We've all done this. We continuously try to add stuff to our lives, hoping to find happiness with the next thing. And eventually, we end up like this:
Could this be a parable? Are we like Steve Martin? Do we treat God like Bernadette Peters as we walk away, collecting our empty pleasures? Have our good intentions ruined us and made everyone cross-eyed?
All this has kept bringing Jeremiah 2:13 to mind. God confronted Israel and said, "For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water."
God offers us life and wants us to find our happiness with Him. Instead, we've chosen to find these things on our own. From the moment Adam and Eve decided they knew a better way to life and happiness, mankind has lived in misery. Instead of going back to the source of true joy, we dig. And unless we realize everything we make cracks and crumbles, we'll keep digging, hoping to make something out of it.
So as I read all the news that's fit to tweet, I think about what Jesus said in Luke 9:23-25. "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The Idea Of Enough
Ever since my wife worked as an intern for
Nashville's NPR station, I've found myself listening to their programming
during my commute. I recently heard an interview where the guest told a story
about Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller at a party for a wealthy banker. Vonnegut
asked Heller if it ever upset him that the banker made more money in one year
than he had ever made from the book Catch-22. Heller replied, "No, because
I have something he will never have. I have enough."
We don't hear many people say that. We typically
think about what we could have if we only had a little more. The meaning of
"enough" is certainly hard to grasp. But then, what is the source of
"enough"? I think it depends on what you want to gain.
Some teachers talk about Luke 18:18-25 as if it's a
story about the evils of money. A rich man asks Jesus what he has to do to gain
eternal life. Jesus tells him, "live a perfect life by keeping the
law." At first, this sounds like Jesus is saying "Just do what the
Bible says". But I think Jesus knew nobody could live a perfect life
except for himself. If that's the case, then maybe we can see Jesus' first
response as his way of saying, "Well, you aren't capable of
gaining eternal life."
The rich man then says, "I've been doing that
already. There's got to be something else." So Jesus looks past the dude's
pride to its source and says, "Sell everything, give it to the poor, and
follow me." This shook the rich man, because, well, he was rich. But more
than that, he put his trust in the security and comfort offered by wealth above
the life Jesus offered.
Those teachers I mentioned often stop the story
when Jesus says, "How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter
the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Then these
teachers have expounded on money.
I don't think the point Jesus made was, "Money
is evil. Only poor people are righteous." Jesus merely revealed the man's
idol. It could have been anything, guys. If a socialite had approached Jesus,
he could have said, "How difficult it is for a popular man to enter the
kingdom of God!" If this conversation happened between Jesus and a genius,
it could easily have been, "How hard it is for an intelligent man to enter
the kingdom of God!" If the men found comfort, security, and identity in
his friends or the power of his mind, then he would have made relationships or
intellect his god.
I think we could fill in the blank "How
difficult it is for a _________ man to enter the kingdom of God" with any
descriptor. In fact, Jesus could simply have said, "How difficult it is
for a man to enter the kingdom of God!"
If he had said it this way, maybe we would better
relate to the people hearing him. In verse 26, the people said, "Then who
can be saved?" We all struggle with idolatry. I think John Calvin rightly
said the human heart is a perpetual factory of idols. If we constantly find
ourselves putting our trust in wealth, relationships, intelligence, or anything besides God alone,
then who can be saved?
Jesus then says in verse 27, "What is
impossible with man is possible with God."
So if Jesus wasn't saying, "Money is
evil," what was he saying? I think he took an opportunity to tell us
"You can't do anything to gain eternal life. Only I can do that for you.
And if you try to do it on your own, you may as well try to successfully shove
a giant animal through a tiny hole."
When we make something like money an idol, it will
never give us enough of what we want. The idol will continuously promise to
fulfill our desires, and then fail to really deliver.
But what is impossible with these idols is possible with God. If we
truly seek after God as the fulfillment of our desires, putting our trust in
Him, finding our security and comfort in Him, He will always provide what we
need. He is enough.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Attitude Over Action - Jesus and the condition of the heart
Long-time Press readers know how I've tried to read the Bible as if I've never read it before. It helps me to notice new things in the text without sliding through all the familiar passages. Throughout the last few months, I've noticed something as I read through Luke's gospel. Much of Jesus's teaching focuses on people who think of themselves as religious. He tells them to focus on the condition of their heart rather than keep score of how well they obey the rules.
Before I continue, I want to say how I understand religious people. It doesn't make sense to assume they know how much they suck. I doubt a single Pharisee thought to himself, "I'm going to be a hypocritical, judgmental, A-hole." The Pharisees as a sect came into being because they wanted to pursue holiness, they just developed the wrong idea for the source of holiness.
They upheld the law as God's standard of holiness. They also knew how easily they could break the law, so they decided to set up additional rules to "build a fence" around the law. This phrase came from a particular law where a home-owner accepted liability if someone fell off the roof of his house and died. So they would build a fence around the roof to prevent accidental deaths. Over time, these "fences" around the law became equal in importance to the Pharisees, and so people were expected to perfectly uphold hundreds and hundreds of rules in addition to Torah.
To this, Jesus told the teachers of the law, "Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."
My friend Tim recently shared something about this during our Sunday night meeting. He said ranchers can't always build fences around their giant spaces of land. So they'll dig deep, deep wells because the cattle will stay close to sources of fresh water. There are some people concerned with defining their faith in terms of boundaries like those mentioned in Colossians 2:20-23. "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations - 'Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things that all perish as they are used) - according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh."
Where this describes a Boundary-Defined Faith, Tim encouraged us to pursue a Transforming Faith. Like the deep wells on those ranches, we seek the source of life like a well of fresh water and find our place there. Jesus told a Samaritan woman about this well and the transforming life it brought. In John 4:13-14, "Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water (referring to the well by which they sat) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"
If you read on from there, you see that this woman had some real problems in her faith and lifestyle. But Jesus doesn't tell her to wake up and get her life straight. He tells her, "I'm offering to change your heart," and knew the change of heart would lead to a change in her life.
What do you think? Does attitude matter more than action? Is the condition of the heart more important than having a religious life?
Before I continue, I want to say how I understand religious people. It doesn't make sense to assume they know how much they suck. I doubt a single Pharisee thought to himself, "I'm going to be a hypocritical, judgmental, A-hole." The Pharisees as a sect came into being because they wanted to pursue holiness, they just developed the wrong idea for the source of holiness.
They upheld the law as God's standard of holiness. They also knew how easily they could break the law, so they decided to set up additional rules to "build a fence" around the law. This phrase came from a particular law where a home-owner accepted liability if someone fell off the roof of his house and died. So they would build a fence around the roof to prevent accidental deaths. Over time, these "fences" around the law became equal in importance to the Pharisees, and so people were expected to perfectly uphold hundreds and hundreds of rules in addition to Torah.
To this, Jesus told the teachers of the law, "Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers."
My friend Tim recently shared something about this during our Sunday night meeting. He said ranchers can't always build fences around their giant spaces of land. So they'll dig deep, deep wells because the cattle will stay close to sources of fresh water. There are some people concerned with defining their faith in terms of boundaries like those mentioned in Colossians 2:20-23. "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations - 'Do not taste, Do not touch' (referring to things that all perish as they are used) - according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh."
Where this describes a Boundary-Defined Faith, Tim encouraged us to pursue a Transforming Faith. Like the deep wells on those ranches, we seek the source of life like a well of fresh water and find our place there. Jesus told a Samaritan woman about this well and the transforming life it brought. In John 4:13-14, "Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water (referring to the well by which they sat) will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'"
If you read on from there, you see that this woman had some real problems in her faith and lifestyle. But Jesus doesn't tell her to wake up and get her life straight. He tells her, "I'm offering to change your heart," and knew the change of heart would lead to a change in her life.
What do you think? Does attitude matter more than action? Is the condition of the heart more important than having a religious life?
Friday, April 27, 2012
A Memorable Object Lesson - Part six and a half of Questions From The Lifehouse Youth Group
Where have I been? Bed-ridden. Possibly as a result of hanging out with the very youths I speak of today.
What did I have? I'm not sure, but you don't want to hear about it. It would gross you out.
And yet, I'm about to tell you the grossest object lesson I ever gave the youth group. It happened at the end of the meeting I mentioned in the last post.
Someone brought up the point, "If we don't have to worry about losing our salvation or having God get mad at us because we've sinned, is it a big deal if we just keep sinning?"
Okay, yes. The answer is yes. But only because understanding the magnitude of God's goodness in offering salvation and the full depravity of our sin should make us want to live a different kind of life. It's the same kind of answer I would give to someone who asks, "Can a person sin in Heaven?" Well, yeah, I guess. Satan and the other demons did. But if you were in the presence of God and aware of the consequences that come with it, why would you choose to sin? It'd be like watching someone lose their leg during Shark Week and then thinking, "Yeah, maybe I'll cut off my leg. Just to see what it's like." You'd probably have lost your mind, right?
Paul made a similar statement in Romans 6:1-2. "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"
After reading this in the youth group meeting, I had a thought. "I'll tell you how I think about this personally.
"When I was in high school, I didn't always cut my toenails. I ran around the beach a lot, swam in lakes, and never thought to wear sandals in the shower after gym class. So I ended up getting a pretty nasty fungal infection in both of my big toenails. They got all yellow and think and ingrown."
"Did they hurt?" Someone asked.
"Yeah, they hurt! After a few years, they hurt so bad I decided something had to be done. I didn't have insurance, and I didn't want to pay full price at a hospital, so I asked my friend Dale to pull them off with pliers."
A few of the kids paled. Awesome, I thought. Nothing like a gross object lesson during youth group. "I bit down on my bandana, gripped the sides of my chair, and Dale tore both of those suckers off my feet.
"I won't go into the part where I went to the emergency room the next day. The point is, it hurt worse than any pain I've ever felt. And I've had to go through this four times at the clinic since Dale first pulled them.
"Now, if I knew for sure after the first toenail pull I would get clean and healthy nails in their place, would I take care of them differently? Or would I live my life of poor foot hygiene like I did in high school? I can tell you this, I would I clip them regularly, wash my feet intentionally, and wear sandals in public showers. I would want to live differently."
And like I told the youths that night, I hope this story sticks with you.
What did I have? I'm not sure, but you don't want to hear about it. It would gross you out.
And yet, I'm about to tell you the grossest object lesson I ever gave the youth group. It happened at the end of the meeting I mentioned in the last post.
Someone brought up the point, "If we don't have to worry about losing our salvation or having God get mad at us because we've sinned, is it a big deal if we just keep sinning?"
Okay, yes. The answer is yes. But only because understanding the magnitude of God's goodness in offering salvation and the full depravity of our sin should make us want to live a different kind of life. It's the same kind of answer I would give to someone who asks, "Can a person sin in Heaven?" Well, yeah, I guess. Satan and the other demons did. But if you were in the presence of God and aware of the consequences that come with it, why would you choose to sin? It'd be like watching someone lose their leg during Shark Week and then thinking, "Yeah, maybe I'll cut off my leg. Just to see what it's like." You'd probably have lost your mind, right?
Paul made a similar statement in Romans 6:1-2. "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?"
After reading this in the youth group meeting, I had a thought. "I'll tell you how I think about this personally.
"When I was in high school, I didn't always cut my toenails. I ran around the beach a lot, swam in lakes, and never thought to wear sandals in the shower after gym class. So I ended up getting a pretty nasty fungal infection in both of my big toenails. They got all yellow and think and ingrown."
"Did they hurt?" Someone asked.
"Yeah, they hurt! After a few years, they hurt so bad I decided something had to be done. I didn't have insurance, and I didn't want to pay full price at a hospital, so I asked my friend Dale to pull them off with pliers."
A few of the kids paled. Awesome, I thought. Nothing like a gross object lesson during youth group. "I bit down on my bandana, gripped the sides of my chair, and Dale tore both of those suckers off my feet.
"I won't go into the part where I went to the emergency room the next day. The point is, it hurt worse than any pain I've ever felt. And I've had to go through this four times at the clinic since Dale first pulled them.
"Now, if I knew for sure after the first toenail pull I would get clean and healthy nails in their place, would I take care of them differently? Or would I live my life of poor foot hygiene like I did in high school? I can tell you this, I would I clip them regularly, wash my feet intentionally, and wear sandals in public showers. I would want to live differently."
And like I told the youths that night, I hope this story sticks with you.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Are You A Sinner Or A Saint? - Part six of Questions From The Lifehouse Youth Group.
If you don't know, let me tell you. Teaching theology to teenagers presents some challenges. How do you sum up enormously important topics like grace in a way that doesn't sound condescending? Here's one way in which I tried.
Since we're reading his book, Enjoying God's Grace, I borrowed an example from Terry Virgo. I asked the youths if they've ever traveled a long distance into another time zone. Most of the kids raised their hands. "The car radio clock or your wristwatch might say it's 3:00 PM, but anyone in Atlanta would tell you it's 4:00 PM. Which is true? Is it 3:00 or 4:00? Or maybe some of you have flown several hours and gone into another part of the world. Now, not only does your watch tell you a certain time, but your body feels like what your watch tells you. It may feel like bed-time, but it's early in the afternoon where you've landed. Which is true, what your feelings tell you or the time set for that zone?"
After becoming a Christian, I still sinned. I was and continue to be kind of a bonehead. So which was it, was I a sinner or a saint? I asked the youths this question. Most of them said "sinner". One kid said, "both".
The Bible tells us when we put our trust in Jesus and make him the Lord of our lives, we go through a transformation. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Paul further describes this change in Romans 6:6-11. "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."
After having one of the youths read the passage from Romans 6 aloud to the group, I asked them the question again: Are you sinners or saints? You may feel like a sinner, but scripture says your old self has died and you are no longer enslaved to sin. You've been set free. Death no longer has dominion. It doesn't rule over you. "It sounds like it's one way or the other," I said. "You're either a sinner or a saint. That's your identity. The Bible says I don't have to pay for my sin or carry the shame of it. Which should I trust more, what the Bible says is true or how I feel?"
I told the youths I knew it was a lot to take in. I'm nearly thirty and I still have a hard time remembering all of this. I told them to think about our discussion and talk to me if they had questions. After the meeting, one of the guys thanked me for leading the discussion. "Yeah, thanks," I said. "I don't know how well I explained it."
"Even if we don't get it all right now," he said, "it was good just to talk about it."
Maybe it would be good for the rest of us to talk about it as well.
Next I'll talk about the other object lesson I gave them. It'll be shorter and more disgusting.
Since we're reading his book, Enjoying God's Grace, I borrowed an example from Terry Virgo. I asked the youths if they've ever traveled a long distance into another time zone. Most of the kids raised their hands. "The car radio clock or your wristwatch might say it's 3:00 PM, but anyone in Atlanta would tell you it's 4:00 PM. Which is true? Is it 3:00 or 4:00? Or maybe some of you have flown several hours and gone into another part of the world. Now, not only does your watch tell you a certain time, but your body feels like what your watch tells you. It may feel like bed-time, but it's early in the afternoon where you've landed. Which is true, what your feelings tell you or the time set for that zone?"
After becoming a Christian, I still sinned. I was and continue to be kind of a bonehead. So which was it, was I a sinner or a saint? I asked the youths this question. Most of them said "sinner". One kid said, "both".
The Bible tells us when we put our trust in Jesus and make him the Lord of our lives, we go through a transformation. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Paul further describes this change in Romans 6:6-11. "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus."
After having one of the youths read the passage from Romans 6 aloud to the group, I asked them the question again: Are you sinners or saints? You may feel like a sinner, but scripture says your old self has died and you are no longer enslaved to sin. You've been set free. Death no longer has dominion. It doesn't rule over you. "It sounds like it's one way or the other," I said. "You're either a sinner or a saint. That's your identity. The Bible says I don't have to pay for my sin or carry the shame of it. Which should I trust more, what the Bible says is true or how I feel?"
I told the youths I knew it was a lot to take in. I'm nearly thirty and I still have a hard time remembering all of this. I told them to think about our discussion and talk to me if they had questions. After the meeting, one of the guys thanked me for leading the discussion. "Yeah, thanks," I said. "I don't know how well I explained it."
"Even if we don't get it all right now," he said, "it was good just to talk about it."
Maybe it would be good for the rest of us to talk about it as well.
Next I'll talk about the other object lesson I gave them. It'll be shorter and more disgusting.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
I Need To Stop Playing Catch Alone - A non-legalistic type of discipline
Recently, I heard a comedian say he had no toy more
pathetic than a bounce-back. If you aren’t familiar with this product, you probably had more friends than I did as a child. Basically, it's a trampoline set on its side. When you throw a baseball, it'll "throw" it back to you. When my brothers didn't want to play catch with me, I hauled out the ol' bounce-back.
As you might imagine, it's accuracy in rebounding the ball made me jump and dive for a lot of catches. This helped me on the field when I needed to snag line drives, but my throwing accuracy was only so-so. And hitting? I was probably somewhere around .250 in my little league career. Not exactly the Mendoza Line, but nothing to crow about either.
Even though I knew my weaknesses, I kept practicing with that bounce-back. I didn't tape off a box on a backstop or hang an old tire to get better command of my throws. I spent more time on Mike Tyson's Punch-Out than I did swinging in the batting cages. Those wild throws and swinging strikes embarrassed me, even when no one saw them. So I kept practicing what I knew I could do well.
Okay, in terms of my life as a Christian, this analogy breaks down. But I did think about the bounce-back this weekend when John Privett from Lifehouse Church taught through Luke 5. Then he read verse 16, "But he (Jesus) would withdraw to desolate places to pray." John stopped and asked, "Now why would Jesus need to take time to pray? Why did he need to go off by himself in solitude?"
Lots of people object to the "do-this-don't-do-that" image of Christianity. In a way, they should. We're saved entirely because God offers to remove our sin and also credit us with the righteousness of Jesus. If we've accepted this forgiveness and receive His grace, we don't have to earn God's favor by doing all of the right things.
This went entirely against the four-point "what it means to be a Christian" lesson I learned in Sunday School. We would count them off every week: 1. Accept Jesus into your heart (always confusing concept) 2. Pray 3. Read the Bible 4. Go to church.
Maybe the list could have been cut in half and simplified. 1. Repent 2. Make Jesus the Lord of your life. Or maybe 1. Become a Christian 2. Try to live the way Jesus taught his disciples to live. I don't know. Maybe that's not helpful. But I think it gets more to the point.
Whatever the case, Jesus is my example. He knew God was pleased with him (Matt 3:17 and 17:5), so the fasting, prayer, and times of solitude weren't ways in which he made God happy. I think Jesus did it for at least two reasons. First, I'm sure it helped his growth and the strength of his relationship with God. When Luke 2 says Jesus grew in wisdom and favor with God, I doubt this happened without any action on his part. Earlier in the chapter, he's in the Temple keeping up on discussions with the Bible teachers as a twelve year old. The kid hadn't even been Bar-Mitzvah'd! How did he get to that point? Wouldn't it make sense he spent time in the Bible?
Second, I think Jesus practiced these spiritual disciplines because they didn't fit in with the demands of his schedule. It seems he wants to get away and pray right when there's the most demand for him. With so many people to heal and so many messages to teach, where does a guy find time to sit and pray in peace? He had to make time. He had to say no to demands.
There, right there I thought about the bounce-back. I rely on what comes easily. I study the Bible. I pray. I worship. These are all acceptable. People tell me I do these things well and I know God is already pleased with me.
But then again, I don't necessarily see growth in other areas of my life. If I say I want to be a more humble person, then maybe I should practice doing something good without announcing it. If I want to grow in wisdom, maybe I could learn how to spend time with men who will actually challenge me and help me mature. If I want to have more joy, maybe I should learn how to celebrate my relationship with Jesus and demonstrate it once in a while. All of those things might be hard or embarrassing, but I need to show some initiative.
Sometimes you have to get over yourself and ask someone to play catch with you.
As you might imagine, it's accuracy in rebounding the ball made me jump and dive for a lot of catches. This helped me on the field when I needed to snag line drives, but my throwing accuracy was only so-so. And hitting? I was probably somewhere around .250 in my little league career. Not exactly the Mendoza Line, but nothing to crow about either.
Even though I knew my weaknesses, I kept practicing with that bounce-back. I didn't tape off a box on a backstop or hang an old tire to get better command of my throws. I spent more time on Mike Tyson's Punch-Out than I did swinging in the batting cages. Those wild throws and swinging strikes embarrassed me, even when no one saw them. So I kept practicing what I knew I could do well.
Okay, in terms of my life as a Christian, this analogy breaks down. But I did think about the bounce-back this weekend when John Privett from Lifehouse Church taught through Luke 5. Then he read verse 16, "But he (Jesus) would withdraw to desolate places to pray." John stopped and asked, "Now why would Jesus need to take time to pray? Why did he need to go off by himself in solitude?"
Lots of people object to the "do-this-don't-do-that" image of Christianity. In a way, they should. We're saved entirely because God offers to remove our sin and also credit us with the righteousness of Jesus. If we've accepted this forgiveness and receive His grace, we don't have to earn God's favor by doing all of the right things.
This went entirely against the four-point "what it means to be a Christian" lesson I learned in Sunday School. We would count them off every week: 1. Accept Jesus into your heart (always confusing concept) 2. Pray 3. Read the Bible 4. Go to church.
Maybe the list could have been cut in half and simplified. 1. Repent 2. Make Jesus the Lord of your life. Or maybe 1. Become a Christian 2. Try to live the way Jesus taught his disciples to live. I don't know. Maybe that's not helpful. But I think it gets more to the point.
Whatever the case, Jesus is my example. He knew God was pleased with him (Matt 3:17 and 17:5), so the fasting, prayer, and times of solitude weren't ways in which he made God happy. I think Jesus did it for at least two reasons. First, I'm sure it helped his growth and the strength of his relationship with God. When Luke 2 says Jesus grew in wisdom and favor with God, I doubt this happened without any action on his part. Earlier in the chapter, he's in the Temple keeping up on discussions with the Bible teachers as a twelve year old. The kid hadn't even been Bar-Mitzvah'd! How did he get to that point? Wouldn't it make sense he spent time in the Bible?
Second, I think Jesus practiced these spiritual disciplines because they didn't fit in with the demands of his schedule. It seems he wants to get away and pray right when there's the most demand for him. With so many people to heal and so many messages to teach, where does a guy find time to sit and pray in peace? He had to make time. He had to say no to demands.
There, right there I thought about the bounce-back. I rely on what comes easily. I study the Bible. I pray. I worship. These are all acceptable. People tell me I do these things well and I know God is already pleased with me.
But then again, I don't necessarily see growth in other areas of my life. If I say I want to be a more humble person, then maybe I should practice doing something good without announcing it. If I want to grow in wisdom, maybe I could learn how to spend time with men who will actually challenge me and help me mature. If I want to have more joy, maybe I should learn how to celebrate my relationship with Jesus and demonstrate it once in a while. All of those things might be hard or embarrassing, but I need to show some initiative.
Sometimes you have to get over yourself and ask someone to play catch with you.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Getting Wise - One way in which God used the church in my life.
*I'll tell you now. This is something I thought about today and I haven't exactly honed it down to my usual style of weblog post.*
Several years ago, a friend called me to see if I wanted to "hang out after everyone got out of church." I wasn't going to church at the time. Or rather, I was attending a church, but a church of several thousand where I could burrow in the back seats, unseen and undisturbed.
When I told him I wanted to stay in that night, I admitted to what I was doing instead: sitting in the basement, soaking my feet, watching the Gilmore Girls, and drinking gin (with a splash of cranberry juice, you know, for color). One of the biggest reasons I drank alone back then was because, well, I didn't want to be around people when I got shiker.
Around that time, I read Proverbs 18:1 and began to feel uncomfortable. "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment." Even if I went out, I could put on the Isaiah Kallman act and never let anyone into the messier parts of my life. Even if I went to church, it was about as intimate and connected as any game at Comerica Park. Even if I talked to people sitting next to me, we would just share commentary.
It took long while for me to realize I lived like this because I was selfish. I didn't want to admit my problems and look weak or foolish. Worse, I didn't know if I really wanted to change. This last point shook me because I was smart enough to recognize my imminent destruction.
The problem went beyond my tendency to hole-up in my parents' basement and drink. My life needed something besides more people and less booze. I needed something else. Other sections of Proverbs spoke to this need. Like 11:14, "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." Or 19:20, "Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future."
I needed to let people into my life, yeah. I needed to let wise people into my life. And I needed to apply their advice.
I'm glad God sent me to Lifehouse Church here in Nashville. Not only do I love the people and the mission, I appreciate how I couldn't casually attend. The people there challenged me. They gave me advice when I needed it. I learned how to grow in humility, although I'm still working on that one. Before you ask, I do drink considerably less, even if I make more of my own beer.
Proverbs clearly says God is the source of wisdom, so I don't want to give the people in the church too much credit. But I'm certain God used the church to help me become the relatively healthy adult I am today.
What's your church experience? Have you seen a good change in your life? Or has it been terrible? Boring? I'd like to know.
Several years ago, a friend called me to see if I wanted to "hang out after everyone got out of church." I wasn't going to church at the time. Or rather, I was attending a church, but a church of several thousand where I could burrow in the back seats, unseen and undisturbed.
When I told him I wanted to stay in that night, I admitted to what I was doing instead: sitting in the basement, soaking my feet, watching the Gilmore Girls, and drinking gin (with a splash of cranberry juice, you know, for color). One of the biggest reasons I drank alone back then was because, well, I didn't want to be around people when I got shiker.
Around that time, I read Proverbs 18:1 and began to feel uncomfortable. "Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment." Even if I went out, I could put on the Isaiah Kallman act and never let anyone into the messier parts of my life. Even if I went to church, it was about as intimate and connected as any game at Comerica Park. Even if I talked to people sitting next to me, we would just share commentary.
It took long while for me to realize I lived like this because I was selfish. I didn't want to admit my problems and look weak or foolish. Worse, I didn't know if I really wanted to change. This last point shook me because I was smart enough to recognize my imminent destruction.
The problem went beyond my tendency to hole-up in my parents' basement and drink. My life needed something besides more people and less booze. I needed something else. Other sections of Proverbs spoke to this need. Like 11:14, "Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety." Or 19:20, "Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future."
I needed to let people into my life, yeah. I needed to let wise people into my life. And I needed to apply their advice.
I'm glad God sent me to Lifehouse Church here in Nashville. Not only do I love the people and the mission, I appreciate how I couldn't casually attend. The people there challenged me. They gave me advice when I needed it. I learned how to grow in humility, although I'm still working on that one. Before you ask, I do drink considerably less, even if I make more of my own beer.
Proverbs clearly says God is the source of wisdom, so I don't want to give the people in the church too much credit. But I'm certain God used the church to help me become the relatively healthy adult I am today.
What's your church experience? Have you seen a good change in your life? Or has it been terrible? Boring? I'd like to know.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Just Because It Made Me Feel Better.
Earlier this year, I admitted to my quarter-life crisis. I began to panic when the question, "What am I even good at?" popped into my head. And so, the post linked above...
This crisis has nagged me since well before I got married, but my responsibility for another person has at times intensified the anxiety.
Instead of simply caving into the fear (let's call it what it is, right?), I worked on a song for over a year and thought you might like to hear the final result. Here's The Summer Country performing "All Of The Best".
All Of The Best
Twenty-seven, in an entry level job
Working part-time with uncertain hours
And you're thinking how success comes to the young
And you wonder why you never got so far
The world can seem so cruel
When you feel overlooked
But you trust
Good things will come
Now you're praying
You're pleading with the Lord
And He hears you
He's given you His word
So you tell Him how you want to be a man
And provide for a health insurance plan
But there's no certainty
Except in Him who you believe
And you trust
Good things will come
You say, "All of the best now,
"All of the best now will be mine.
"One day, all of the best now
"All of the best now will be mine.
"Will soon be mine."
Twenty-eight now and pulling salary
Nine-to-five and every weekend free
How're you feeling wearing that shirt and tie?
Does it strangle? Does it make you want to...
Die to everything you knew
With everything He's given you
Can't you trust
Good things will come?
And say...
This crisis has nagged me since well before I got married, but my responsibility for another person has at times intensified the anxiety.
Instead of simply caving into the fear (let's call it what it is, right?), I worked on a song for over a year and thought you might like to hear the final result. Here's The Summer Country performing "All Of The Best".
All Of The Best
Twenty-seven, in an entry level job
Working part-time with uncertain hours
And you're thinking how success comes to the young
And you wonder why you never got so far
The world can seem so cruel
When you feel overlooked
But you trust
Good things will come
Now you're praying
You're pleading with the Lord
And He hears you
He's given you His word
So you tell Him how you want to be a man
And provide for a health insurance plan
But there's no certainty
Except in Him who you believe
And you trust
Good things will come
You say, "All of the best now,
"All of the best now will be mine.
"One day, all of the best now
"All of the best now will be mine.
"Will soon be mine."
Twenty-eight now and pulling salary
Nine-to-five and every weekend free
How're you feeling wearing that shirt and tie?
Does it strangle? Does it make you want to...
Die to everything you knew
With everything He's given you
Can't you trust
Good things will come?
And say...
Friday, April 6, 2012
Chronological Snobbery And Modern Application - A continuing look at the popular view of scripture.
"You can't take your faith too seriously," one of my wife's relatives said to me. "Sure, it's good to have. It's important. But there's faith and then there's the day-to-day real life."
I asked this person to explain the difference.
"Well, it's like how you want to teach people about the Bible. You can't take it for what it says because a lot of stuff has changed since then. Now we've got electricity, indoor plumbing, medicine, and stuff like that."
I asked if those things really made a difference.
"Sure they do!" she replied. "Times have changed, so the best thing to do is relate the Bible to real life today. I hope you do that when you're a pastor."
Having just met this person, I didn't feel like explaining why, if I ever became a pastor, she probably wouldn't enjoy most of my sermons.
I'll admit I don't get out much. I go to work, church, band practice, and occasionally a two-for-one night somewhere. So I actually appreciate having conversations like the one I just described because it tells me something of the cultural view of Christianity.
My wife's relative, for example, showed me how people still possess what C.S. Lewis called "Chronological Snobbery". Her argument seemed to say people who didn't know about electricity and penicillin were obviously ignorant. How could we take their inferior wisdom so seriously as to believe the Bible for what it says?
Just because people in ancient Israel believed both A: The Bible was God's word to man and B: the sun rotated around the earth does not mean belief A loses credibility in light of Copernicus.
Having said this, I do think we should discuss how we can apply the Bible to our lives in the present day. Philosopher Francis Schaeffer once said, "Each generation of the church in each setting has the responsibility of communicating the gospel in understandable terms, considering the language and thought-forms of that setting." I believe I'm better equipped to do this if I know more about the language and thought-forms of my surroundings.
Now's your chance to help me out. In one sentence (if possible), tell me what you think about the Bible and/or Christianity.
I asked this person to explain the difference.
"Well, it's like how you want to teach people about the Bible. You can't take it for what it says because a lot of stuff has changed since then. Now we've got electricity, indoor plumbing, medicine, and stuff like that."
I asked if those things really made a difference.
"Sure they do!" she replied. "Times have changed, so the best thing to do is relate the Bible to real life today. I hope you do that when you're a pastor."
Having just met this person, I didn't feel like explaining why, if I ever became a pastor, she probably wouldn't enjoy most of my sermons.
I'll admit I don't get out much. I go to work, church, band practice, and occasionally a two-for-one night somewhere. So I actually appreciate having conversations like the one I just described because it tells me something of the cultural view of Christianity.
My wife's relative, for example, showed me how people still possess what C.S. Lewis called "Chronological Snobbery". Her argument seemed to say people who didn't know about electricity and penicillin were obviously ignorant. How could we take their inferior wisdom so seriously as to believe the Bible for what it says?
Just because people in ancient Israel believed both A: The Bible was God's word to man and B: the sun rotated around the earth does not mean belief A loses credibility in light of Copernicus.
Having said this, I do think we should discuss how we can apply the Bible to our lives in the present day. Philosopher Francis Schaeffer once said, "Each generation of the church in each setting has the responsibility of communicating the gospel in understandable terms, considering the language and thought-forms of that setting." I believe I'm better equipped to do this if I know more about the language and thought-forms of my surroundings.
Now's your chance to help me out. In one sentence (if possible), tell me what you think about the Bible and/or Christianity.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Did God Forsake Jesus?
In previous posts, I've referred to my friend Joe's sick sense of humor. I couldn't tell with his most recent comment if he asked in earnest, or if he wanted to teach me something new with questions. Joe, if that's the case, how very rabbinical of you.
He asked, "I'm curious, if Jesus didn't question the Father's love EVER, why did he say, 'My God, My God why have you forsaken me?'?"
This question has haunted lots of Christians with a chilling thought: Did God really turn away from Jesus? Did Jesus experience fear or doubt during the crucifixion?
We all know I'm not a certified theologian. I have plenty to learn about God and His word. But I want to suggest an answer to this question.
"No."
I don't think Jesus was asking God this question because he doubted or because God had actually forsaken His son.
First, consider how many times Jesus heard this phrase, "If you are the Son of God, then..." Satan said this when tempting him in the wilderness. The people asked this of Jesus when they wanted him to give a sign proving his claims. Some witnessing the crucifixion said it when they told him to come down off the cross.
In Luke 4:9-12, when Satan tempts Jesus to prove God's love for him, Jesus recites Deuteronomy 6:16 and says, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."
Throughout the Gospels, people asked Jesus to show them a sign. In Luke 11, Jesus responds by rebuking their request. Then he teaches them the meaning of Jonah, how it was a foreshadowing of his death and resurrection. Again, I see this pattern. People ask for proof, Jesus responds with scripture to declare his trust.
Finally, people passing by during Jesus' crucifixion call out in Matthew 27:40, "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!"In verse 46, Jesus recites the opening line of Psalm 22, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" But this is a Psalm of trust. David expresses pain and feelings of desolation, but then says, "Yet you are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame."
And after this, Luke 23:46 reports Jesus saying, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" To me, this doesn't sound like someone who felt forsaken. It sounds as if Jesus trusted in God throughout the ordeal.
And what does this mean for us? If Jesus suffered worse than any of us in crucifixion and taking on the burden of all our sin, is it ever acceptable for us to give in to despair? Should we agree or disagree with Hebrews 13:5 when it says God will never leave or forsake us?
I'm sure there are more questions. I'm sure there is clearer explanation. But maybe this is a good start.
He asked, "I'm curious, if Jesus didn't question the Father's love EVER, why did he say, 'My God, My God why have you forsaken me?'?"
This question has haunted lots of Christians with a chilling thought: Did God really turn away from Jesus? Did Jesus experience fear or doubt during the crucifixion?
We all know I'm not a certified theologian. I have plenty to learn about God and His word. But I want to suggest an answer to this question.
"No."
I don't think Jesus was asking God this question because he doubted or because God had actually forsaken His son.
First, consider how many times Jesus heard this phrase, "If you are the Son of God, then..." Satan said this when tempting him in the wilderness. The people asked this of Jesus when they wanted him to give a sign proving his claims. Some witnessing the crucifixion said it when they told him to come down off the cross.
In Luke 4:9-12, when Satan tempts Jesus to prove God's love for him, Jesus recites Deuteronomy 6:16 and says, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test."
Throughout the Gospels, people asked Jesus to show them a sign. In Luke 11, Jesus responds by rebuking their request. Then he teaches them the meaning of Jonah, how it was a foreshadowing of his death and resurrection. Again, I see this pattern. People ask for proof, Jesus responds with scripture to declare his trust.
Finally, people passing by during Jesus' crucifixion call out in Matthew 27:40, "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!"In verse 46, Jesus recites the opening line of Psalm 22, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" But this is a Psalm of trust. David expresses pain and feelings of desolation, but then says, "Yet you are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame."
And after this, Luke 23:46 reports Jesus saying, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" To me, this doesn't sound like someone who felt forsaken. It sounds as if Jesus trusted in God throughout the ordeal.
And what does this mean for us? If Jesus suffered worse than any of us in crucifixion and taking on the burden of all our sin, is it ever acceptable for us to give in to despair? Should we agree or disagree with Hebrews 13:5 when it says God will never leave or forsake us?
I'm sure there are more questions. I'm sure there is clearer explanation. But maybe this is a good start.
Monday, April 2, 2012
"We Are Nazareth."
When Jesus begins his ministry in Luke 4, he teaches at a synagogue in Nazareth. It's his hometown. These people watched him grow up. They're excited to see Joe's kid give the message, but they don't know what's coming.
Jesus reads from the book of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then Jesus says, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." He has declared he is the Messiah. Last night, my friend Jamie pointed out how Jesus must have said all this with great authority because the people at the synagogue marveled and spoke well of what he said. There was a moment where they believed, "Maybe Joe's kid is the Messiah."
Then Jesus goes on to tell them, "'Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, "'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well."' And he said, 'Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.'"
Maybe you already understand why the people in Nazareth decided at that moment they had to kill Jesus. Maybe it makes perfect sense to you why the people went from excited amazement to furious bloodlust. If you're like me, though, you have to go back through that passage a few times to figure out what happened.
Jesus said he is the Messiah. The Jews were waiting for someone to come free them from the Roman occupation. They wanted the Messiah to put Israel back in power. They wanted all sorts of things they thought would happen the way they wanted it to happen. Jesus knew this as soon as he said it, so he explained, "It's not going to look like what you thought or happen the way you expect, and I'm going to offer the same freedom to people you hate. Here are some biblical examples to back it up."
There it was. The Messiah they wanted would never say or do the things Jesus had just said and done. In the eyes of the Nazerites, Jesus went from the greatest man ever to a blasphemer who deserved death.
It should bother us how much we're like Nazareth. I know so many people who have said, "I can't believe in a God who..." They reject God because He doesn't act the way they think He should act or say the things they find acceptable. If they don't like something said in the Bible, they either reject it or reinterpret it.
The Jews were excited for what the Messiah would do for them. Freedom, healing, cancelled debt, justice. But they wanted the Messiah on their terms, and those terms were unconditional. Are we any different? Do we want Jesus or all the things he can do for us?
If Jesus were here today, how many of us would be excited until He started talking? How many of us would maybe think about trying to kill him again?
Jesus reads from the book of Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Then Jesus says, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." He has declared he is the Messiah. Last night, my friend Jamie pointed out how Jesus must have said all this with great authority because the people at the synagogue marveled and spoke well of what he said. There was a moment where they believed, "Maybe Joe's kid is the Messiah."
Then Jesus goes on to tell them, "'Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, "'Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well."' And he said, 'Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.'"
Maybe you already understand why the people in Nazareth decided at that moment they had to kill Jesus. Maybe it makes perfect sense to you why the people went from excited amazement to furious bloodlust. If you're like me, though, you have to go back through that passage a few times to figure out what happened.
Jesus said he is the Messiah. The Jews were waiting for someone to come free them from the Roman occupation. They wanted the Messiah to put Israel back in power. They wanted all sorts of things they thought would happen the way they wanted it to happen. Jesus knew this as soon as he said it, so he explained, "It's not going to look like what you thought or happen the way you expect, and I'm going to offer the same freedom to people you hate. Here are some biblical examples to back it up."
There it was. The Messiah they wanted would never say or do the things Jesus had just said and done. In the eyes of the Nazerites, Jesus went from the greatest man ever to a blasphemer who deserved death.
It should bother us how much we're like Nazareth. I know so many people who have said, "I can't believe in a God who..." They reject God because He doesn't act the way they think He should act or say the things they find acceptable. If they don't like something said in the Bible, they either reject it or reinterpret it.
The Jews were excited for what the Messiah would do for them. Freedom, healing, cancelled debt, justice. But they wanted the Messiah on their terms, and those terms were unconditional. Are we any different? Do we want Jesus or all the things he can do for us?
If Jesus were here today, how many of us would be excited until He started talking? How many of us would maybe think about trying to kill him again?
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