yeah...I'm an addict

Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” John 6: 26-29


It is oh so easy for us to look out from our lofty perches sometimes and see a thing...a defect...a shortcoming...a sin... in someone else that we are blinded to in ourselves. Some perhaps would call it judging others...I would simply call it misjudging ourselves. I find it incredibly both arrogant and naive that we could point an accusing finger at someone and not realize that but for the grace of God we are spared so much misery. I am thinking specifically about our tremendously addicted culture that we live in and how we ourselves become enablers and users. We are constantly comparing and judging ourselves against others in nomenclature and scale of addictions. By doing that we can rationalize our behavior and assign a degree of what is acceptable and what is not. That's how we can say that drinking 5-6 cups of coffee and 3-4 energy drinks is ok...but shooting heroin is bad...really bad. Or even...looking at a little porn...Is there even such a thing as a “little" porn? It is so easy for us to normalize our many addictions as we have incorporated them into the fabric of our daily lives. We often say...” well, this isn't really hurting anyone”...Really? The reality is we have given our biggest addiction that most of us suffer from an entirely different name so that it doesn't sound too bad...it's called consumerism and consumption. We are addicted to stuff...getting stuff...buying stuff..holding on to stuff. We are all about stuff...Jesus addresses that here in this passage from the gospel of John. When the disciples and the people came looking for Jesus he told them they in essence came looking for what Jesus could give them. They weren't seeking more signs...they were looking for freebies and something to fill their stomachs again. They were looking for stuff...We are no different. We often times approach Jesus in prayer seeking a thing as opposed to seeking His presence. Even when we get that one desired thing it just never seems to be enough as the endless hunger of addictions continues to ravage our lives. We are always looking...for the next best thing...the newest thing...the coolest thing... thinking this will ease this gnawing craving we feel in the depths of our soul. We chase after stuff with the idea that it will satisfy us once and for all. It won't...it's a mirage. It's a clever and cruel trick of Satan. It is only a very temporary fix...no different than the handful of pills we take to self medicate and numb our psychic pain. It has been described by many as a “hole in the heart” and we...sadly...believe we can fill that hole with stuff. So...we chase the dream with wild abandon and constantly work to get stuff and amass dubious treasure while here on earth. In Matthew 6: 19-21 it says,

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The fact is that pursuing that false hope of riches comes at a great cost to us both individually and as a culture. Jesus reminds us in the passage from John to not to work for food that spoils...that perishes. He is trying to tell us that the sense of fullness and satisfaction we desperately seek is not found anywhere or in anything outside of Him. He is trying to tell us that this easily spoiled food makes us sick...addicted. The cost of chasing and living this so called American dream is entirely charged to us and what we can do in our power and with self reliance. On the other hand...the cost of pursuing a life of following Christ is solely charged to Him and He paid the price for us on the cross. How refreshing and stress relieving it is to know that I can be freed from the grips of an addiction that only seeks to destroy me and everything I touch. Entangled within the snare of a works based system of belief...it slowly becomes apparent that there is never enough I can do or be to measure up to the unrealistic expectation in my mind of who I should be and what I should have. We are unwitting pawns in a cruel game that we will never be able to win. The good news...there is a solution. As Jesus said in the passage from John...the only work we need to be concerned with is the one that God requires...and that is simply to believe in the one He has sent...that's where the freedom from this addiction begins...there is this amazing light at the end of the tunnel... and as the song says...” Into marvelous light I'm running, out of darkness...out of shame...”

what are YOU giving up for Lent?

We have entered into the Lenten season. There is no time that is more soul searching for a follower of Jesus than this next 40 days. The conversation is often initiated by the standard...”what are you giving up for Lent?”. I didn't grow up in a churched family nor did I have many, if any, Catholic friends to clue me in on the giving up season. At my house things were more focused on Easter eggs, chocolate “hollow” rabbits and ham for Easter dinner. Oh yeah, dressing up on Easter and getting the requisite pics of a dorky kid with a Easter basket. It wasn't until very many years later I learned about everything that happened historically during the time of Jesus and events leading up to His death, burial and resurrection. I will have to say I got it in little bits and pieces and slowly processed the entire picture. I, however still didn't get the whole Lent thing until I became an adult and every year I gain some new insight. This year will be no different I am sure... Last year I went to see this tremendously theatrical production of a very compressed version of these 40 days at a local church renown for this pageant. It was extremely well done and very emotionally charged and provocative. I actually felt disgust for the Roman soldiers as they arrogantly walked by in front of me. They were TOTALLY in character. In 2004 the movie The Passion of the Christ came out and I have to admit I did not see it until about 2007. I found it to be practically unbearable to watch the first time I saw it. Yeah...of course...I cried...a lot. I remember being on a mission trip in the Dominican Republic with Victory Christian Center in 2008 and they showed a scene from The Passion on a giant screen on stage during a nightly evangelical crusade. I looked around and the people were completely spellbound. No one moved...no one spoke...all eyes were on the screen. At the end of the scene more people than I could count were weeping and praising Jesus...powerful. I can only imagine if they could see the entire film. I get the concept of giving something up for lent...or fasting...making a sacrifice...refocusing attention on Jesus...40 Days of Water. As I always fast completely for a lengthy period at the beginning of the year...no food...no TV...it seems a little anti climatic to fast 6 days a week...take a break Sundays and resume for 40 days. It just all seems so contrived and legalistic with lots of rules and regulations and different interpretations of what is the right way and a lot of focus on self. I don't think that is really what is intended when we fast and pray. In Matthew 6: 16-18, it says,

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Observing the season of Lent is a way that we can place ourselves before God humbled and broken bringing nothing of our own doing enabling ourselves the ability to purchase our salvation. It is a way for us individually to confess our total inadequacy and dependency on a sovereign and all providing God and to strip away all pretenses of debilitating prideful righteousness. It is a way to empty ourselves of our foolish false pride, of our rationalizing and blindness that prevent us from seeing ourselves as needy creatures, of our perfectionist tendencies that cause unmet expectations that weakens our faith. So...let's see...what could I possibly give up for Lent. Chocolate...uh...no. TV...don't watch enough to be sacrificial. Perhaps we all should dig a little deeper into what really is taking time away from Jesus...what is keeping your prayers short and generic?...what is keeping you from reading the Bible?...what is competing against your relationship with Jesus? I promise that there is something... I know there is for me. There always is something...I have a very hard time with focus and being single minded about something. That's a lot of the reason why I fast every year at the beginning of the year...it sets the tone for the year. It's like any kind of training you would do for an upcoming sporting event...What Jesus requires is no different. He wants singlemindness and dedication to purpose. The season of Lent is all about penitence and reflection and forgiveness of self and others. Being mindful of our sins and shortcomings and trying to listen to what God is speaking to us...trying to teach us. So, as you can see there is much we can give up and there is much work to be done to facilitate healing. So...yeah...I have plenty of stuff that I can give up besides peanut M & Ms and vanilla cokes and mediocre TV... I can give up my cleverly disguised pride and creeping...at times...unbelief that God really hears me when I whisper... help me...I can give up my need to fail sometimes...when others are praying so hard for me to succeed. I can give up my penchant to judge others...even if in the tiniest seemingly insignificant ways. I guess that's enough to keep me busy for 40 days...thankfully I get Sundays off...

thoughts on the gospel...part 3

I must confess that until the last few years I wasn't even aware of the term...social justice. I am pretty sure that I knew a lot about all the stuff it assumes to represent...I just didn't bandy it about in casual conversation. I became well acquainted with the term and use of it during some recent involvement with a human rights organization. I must also confess...while I'm in a confessing mood...that I frequently used this term in relation to being a follower of Jesus and sometimes without a real understanding of that relationship. There is a vast array of social justice issues and they wax and wane in popularity based on who the most vociferous celebrity spokesperson is supporting their pet cause. The problem for me and the danger I see is that chasing and promoting these various causes has become another mutation of the gospel. Everyone has a different idea of exactly what the pressing issues are in the realm of social justice and very busily are trying to incorporate them into the framework of the gospel. They are wrapped within that framework and brought into the mainstream in their churches. There is no doubt about the fact that Jesus was very concerned and filled with compassion over the plight of the oppressed and disenfranchised. Jesus clearly had a special sense of mission to poor and oppressed people. When Jesus boldly announced the beginning of his ministry on the earth, sometimes commonly known as Jesus' mission statement, He stood up in the synagogue at Nazareth and read these words from the prophet Isaiah:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19

As Andrew Beckner, in his blog, A Candid Christian says, “Fighting social injustice without incorporating Jesus into the mix doesn't mean anything to the one ministering or to the one being ministered to. That's because the minister isn't able to reconcile himself to God through works, and the one being ministered to cannot hope to find reconciliation to God through someone other than Jesus.” I think this sums up the difficulty of the so called gospel of social justice... it is a fairly difficult idea to be accepted by the average church-goer. People sometimes see a thinly veiled attempt to marry a social cause and the gospel together in order to advance an agenda and are suspicious of that. If people are suspicious then it is very difficult to get them to even hear the message or participate. Unfortunately sometimes the actual gospel and Jesus gets squeezed out to make room for the facts and figures and the call to action. If you do not include Jesus two other significant problems arise. First, you rob yourself of the true source of your power to effect change within the culture as a whole and address specific social issues. You completely discount the Holy Spirit as the main factor in creating the possibility of change...redemption...and restoration. There comes a great urge to try to do this thing that needs to be done in our own power. Of course, we all know the danger of that...God doesn't get the glory and we become less dependent on God to take care of things without us helping Him and trying to control and manipulate things. He really hates that...It is so easy for us to get the cart in front of the horse...we mess stuff up when we try to limit Gods power and ability and only allow Him to operate within a narrow range that our often small faith and vision permits. I know that sounds crazy but that is what we do...a lot. We get into a very dangerous place where we are operating on a works alone system of belief. God is able to do anything and everything and so much more than we could possible imagine. We just need to take Him out of the box or let Him off the leash that we walk Him around on. It is absolutely imperative that the message of the true gospel be kept in the forefront and that any cause we seek to advocate for or dedicate ourselves to... we must understand that it is an adjunct only. The other problem is that in our passion and fervor the social justice issues can become politicized and then if so several things happen and all are usually not so good for the causes or those who support them. With the politicization we draw lines...take sides...place labels...move apart...stereotype. However the bigger danger is that we slip into black and white thinking and develop a us or them mentality. It becomes divisive and not unifying for the body of Christ. One becomes judgmental if you do not see and agree with the point of whatever the cause is...that's one thing we certainly do not need more of in our churches. We see the world only in extremes...perfection versus chaos. Our expectations are never met as there is no perfection in social causes. There is only perfection in Jesus...and He set the bar very high. So...it is apparent to me that an easy solution to avoid extremism and division within the church is to ensure that the true gospel always comes first...it is the saving works of Jesus that unifies us...nothing we could possibly do on our own contributes anything toward that goal. I think is very simply a matter of the fact that we all really need to be reminded frequently that really there is neither a Pentecostal nor a Southern Baptist seated in heaven on the throne of God. I would be willing to guarantee that each and every one of us will have our argued over and fought for theologies corrected when we stand before Jesus. Therefore, we need to seek to work together to further the Kingdom of God and incorporate the social justice message that Jesus taught us as He served those who were oppressed and living in captivity. Jesus came to seek and save the lost but He also came to feed the hungry...give drink to the thirsty...restore sight to the blind. I think there is room for us all at the table and there certainly is enough need that we all can serve the least of these for a very long time. Really...isn't that what we are here for? As far as I am concerned social justice is simply doing the things to model Jesus for those who looking to see what He really looks like...Is the cause that you are advocating for...wearing the t shirt for...putting Jesus and the true gospel up front? If not... you just have another thing that looks and smells like every other world saving idea that has come and gone...because we all know that there is only one real sustainable... enduring...hope defining...life affirming answer...Jesus.

thoughts on the gospel...part 2

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” Matthew 6: 19-21

I know that it seems I am beating a dead horse here...but...as I shared in a previous blog post the real gospel is a totally stand alone item. As I also said nothing gets added...nothing taken away. However the temptation is so great that many feel the need to add their own unique touch which immediately invalidates anything they have to say or do in relation to the gospel message. They re-image...reduce...remix...re-brand...and reintroduce the gospel as their own interpretation and set out to intentionally deceive others. In Acts 20: 29-30, Paul warned,
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”
Even today this rings as true as in the time of Paul...wolves continue to roam and prowl freely in plain sight within the confines of many of our churches. No bigger false gospel has ever been created to deceive so many innocents as the “prosperity gospel”. This a totally false teaching that states...that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the "sowing of seeds" through the faithful payments of tithes and offerings. It has been claimed that prosperity's ultimate purpose is to fund evangelism and various Christian charities worldwide, however critics argue that most all evidence has shown that the accumulation of wealth and material goods does not serve the purpose of the Gospel. We aren't entirely blind...we can readily see where a lot of the money is going...uh...the preachers pockets. Their lavish lifestyles and so called ministries are being funded on the backs of their conned supporters. All we have to do is turn the TV on to any of several religious channels and immediately see some of the heavy hitters in action speaking such outright lies I am sometimes amazed at their audacity. I think the bigger question for me is...how in the world can this keep happening? How can people be so blinded and deaf to the antics and the endless barrage of false teaching from these imposters? I am reminded of this verse...
"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths" (2 Tim. 4:3-4).
There are really several factors at work here. The teaching style of these wolves that Paul spoke of in Acts is indeed very charming, seductive, pretty close to what we know of the bible, cunning and quite dangerous as they take advantage of the almost universally undiscerning audiences. These false teachers promise that you can overcome fear, guilt and psychological hang-ups, even alcoholism, through anything but the true gospel. They also give one the impression that they have a very intimate...up close and personal... relationship with God and often report having many visions, encounters and conversations with Him. They assure their audiences that if they give money...lots of money... they too can become more intimate with God. How ridiculous and further from the truth can anything be. Once again you have a sect within the larger body of Christianity that has taken selected scriptures totally out of context and fashioned their false theology around them. Sadly, this is done a lot and those who operate in this manner take advantage in the worst possible way of peoples ignorance of the entirety of the bible. There have been numerous critics of the teachings of the prosperity gospel and the many well known names espousing this corrupt pseudo-gospel. I think John Piper states it very well when he says,
“Paul said we should not steal. The alternative was hard work with our own hands. But the main purpose was not merely to hoard or even to have. The purpose was “to have to give.” “Let him labor, working with his hands, that he may have to give to him who is in need” (Ephesians 4:28). This is not a justification for being rich in order to give more. It is a call to make more and keep less so you can give more. There is no reason why a person who makes $200,000 should live any differently from the way a person who makes $80,000 lives. Find a wartime lifestyle; cap your expenditures; then give the rest away. Why would you want to encourage people to think that they should possess wealth in order to be a lavish giver? Why not encourage them to keep their lives more simple and be an even more lavish giver? Would that not add to their generosity a strong testimony that Christ, and not possessions, is their treasure?
Immediately...you can see the “hole” in this false gospel...the focus...off of Christ and His glory and His Kingdom...and all the focus on me and what I can get and do for me. How can I get rich beyond my wildest dreams? Oh...I see..if I send in a seed offering of $1000 I will receive this specially anointed hanky and I can use it to wipe my tears away while waiting for my ship to come in...How cruel is that? How maligned can the real gospel possibly be? How both sad and unfortunate is it that the ones these wolves prey on are the “least of these”? We are under a mandate from God to present the true saving...redeeming...hope giving...and life affirming gospel. Anything less is...well...less. Anything more is...well...sinful and we know what Jesus thinks about that, right? Uh...all false teachers and phony prophets...to the left please...just follow the other goats...move along

thoughts on the gospel...part 1

I have discovered that as a Christian it is pretty easy to go around making statements about things we know little about...or have researched...or personally experienced. This can be very dangerous to both ourselves and to others as we can be very easily deceived. That's what makes a clever magician so effective and entertaining to watch. It's just a simple fact about our human nature...we can be conned...hoodwinked....have the wool pulled over our eyes...or be led astray. That being led astray possibility is the scariest one as it seems many times we are willing to follow someone down an unknown path solely based on what we hear or are promised. This is the modus operandi of purveyors of false teachings and distorted gospels. Things can sound just good enough to our ears and be oh so close to the real gospel that we can be agreeing and following along before we ever know what has happened. Jesus was very clear about the danger. In Matthew 7: 15-20, He says,

 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them”.

 There is a weird paradox operating in the true gospel in that it has the power to save every sinner and provide a life in eternity but it also has the power to corrupt those who would seek to use it for their own purposes. As I said previously the true gospel is totally sufficient unto itself and nothing needs to be added nor taken away. So, the bedrock upon which all truth rests is in knowing what the gospel is and then...logically...hopefully... you see what it is not. So, in a nutshell only...I will not elaborate here...the real gospel is the good news of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that provides full and free deliverance from the power and penalty of sin according to the grace of God alone through faith in Jesus Christ alone. That's it. Sadly, the gospel that we live by and share with others today has become the main and essential narcissistic tool of false prophets and teachers. It has become a one size fits all “cure-all pill” for things like stress, personal fulfillment and happiness, child-rearing, diet-eating plans, and social justice causes of every description. The gospel is not a set of rules...or 7 steps to live “your best life now” by. The gospel is not a series of methodical instructions that one follows in order to get God to do something for him in return. Of course, that's exactly what we do. The gospel is not glibly dispensed advice for more prosperous and materially abundant living. The gospel is not a therapeutic inner psyche repairing psychological massage for troubled emotions...a bad childhood...ineffective parents...or any other thing we can use to dodge responsibility for the shape we are in. The gospel is not the end point cure-all for one’s personal woes...shortcomings...disappointments...or other failures in life. The gospel is not important or saving or even necessary because it can help “me” become a better “me.” All of this is taken care of by the real gospel. One of the serious problems with our understanding of the gospel is we believe that it is something we can do...or based on our works. Admittedly this doing part is a very important part of the gospel but it is only a part. It is just like in James 2: 17,18, where it says,

“ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”

Just as faith and works are two separate components and cannot effectively work apart from each other neither can the doing and telling of the gospel message. People have tried and still are trying but the understanding of the message is impaired and those who you are trying to help suffer. The bigger question to ask is if what I am doing is totally glorifying God and extending the reach of His kingdom in the world. There are so many causes and organizations that are both advocating and physically doing work in the hard and dark places. I am glad and happy for anyone that sees a need and tries to address it in any manner...BUT...if you are not bringing the gospel with you and sharing that then you are missing a huge opportunity to have your work blessed by God in a very powerful way. There are many well intentioned people who are motivated by a variety of reasons to do things to help others. Some peoples identities are even tied into these great humanitarian causes. We become do-ers and we solely focus on the next big cause and how much that I can do and maybe become famous within the confines of that cause. The problem is that causes become very personal for one reason or another...we may have been closely impacted or maybe just because it's the cause du jour...we therefore strive to advance their agendas. We become passionate and even sometimes to the point of zealousness. We bring those causes into our churches and try to incorporate them into the framework of the gospel. There certainly is nothing wrong with that but often in our extreme enthusiasm we forget God...we lose sight of the role of Jesus...we get blinded and become less kingdom minded. The cause is Jesus...the goal is the whole true gospel. Anything less is...well...less. The importance to those who do not know the gospel...who we have not shared that story with...who have not been fed with both real bread and the transforming spiritual bread of life...who have not have not been given a cup of water in His name...the importance is just too big to leave it out. I do believe that the gospel can be a powerful blueprint for action in the world whether in missions or various causes but we simply cannot ignore mans corrupt and sinful nature and thus the extreme importance of sharing the true gospel...with everyone...everywhere...all the time.