Navigating Pathways of the Heart: Shame

This past Sunday, in our second installment of the "Four Dark Riders of the Heart" series, we looked at how the Gospel of God's Grace deals with our shame.  Like the previous week, I referred to material from The Gospel App by Bill Senyard that I am happy to pass along as a resource.   Click Here for a link to the book.

What Is Shame?

Shame is a powerful negative self-assessment that something is innately wrong with you.  You are broken, a loser, a failure, dirty, unloveable, a joke and intrinsically not-right.  The core fear of a shamed Christian is that no matter what you do, you will never ever be worthy of God’s love and favor again.
The Gospel App – p. 39

Because you feel “wrong” you may .  .  .  .

Navigating Pathways of the Heart: Guilt

In response to the requests after Sunday’s sermon on The Gospel Deals With Guilt, I am happy to post a section that I referenced from Bill Senyard’s workbook The Gospel App.  Click Here for an Amazon link to that book.

Guilt is what you normally feel when you do something wrong.  You did not do right and so feel guilt.  Guilt is a power that ignites largely unconscious reactions to fix it.

To feel right again you might .  .  .  .

Marching Orders From Jesus For The War With Islamic Terrorism

There are a number of things to like about Liberty University (Go to the end of this post for specifics.) but I HAVE BEEN MORTIFIED to follow the statements and follow up by their President Jerry Falwell, Jr recently:  “If more good people had concealed-carry permits, then we could end those Muslims before they walked in.”

I’m glad that he has clarified that by “those Muslims” he was referring to the two killers in the San Bernardino tragedy.  Sort of.

But he went on to say: “I just wanted to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to get your permit.  We offer a free course.  Let’s teach them a lesson if they ever show up here.”

Encouragement and a free course to fill a dormitory of 19 year old males with concealed weapons?   I can’t picture the Marine Corps doing that, even with all their weapons training!  But I digress.

War Room: A Movie Worth Seeing

Full Disclosure: I am generally not favorably inclined to “Christian” movies like War Room for a number of reasons.  (Scroll down to the end of this blog if you want to know why.)  That said, I came away from this movie encouraged and impressed by three specific things:

Marriage: A Contract To Aid In One Another’s Sanctification

This past Sunday I quoted Dr Richard Lovelace regarding the idea that for Christ-followers, marriage served as an important "school for sanctification."  Here is the longer quotation from his book, Renewal as a Way of Life

Growth in sanctification should be a lifelong series of alterations in our lives through such crises of conviction.  One of the functions of God’s law (biblical moral principles which declare God’s will for our behavior) is to measure our lives and locate places where they need changing.  “The Law” come to us again and again, not only in the pages of Scripture, but also in the warnings or protests of people close to us who can see our failing, however much they may be in the dark about their own.  Parents, teachers, the police and other authorities are all personalized forms of the law.

A husband or wife also functions in this same way, serving God as an agent of our sanctification.  He or she can see the patterns of sin which are hidden from our own vision by spiritual darkness, and from the world because it sees only the surface of our lives.  Most divorces among Christians probably occur because the parties have not realized that marriage is a contract to aid in one another’s sanctification.  Without this realization, we become experts at what is wrong with one another, without recognizing that the information our spouse is giving us about ourselves is an essential aid to our spiritual growth.

Putting On The Brakes: Why Johns Hopkins Hospital No Longer Does Transgender Surgery

Like the voice of one crying in the wilderness, I would like to share some information.  I realize it is dangerous to step in front of a freight train and shout “Slow down!!” and that is what this feel like, but here goes.  With cover stories on Vanity Fair and the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star on transgender people, I want to say that there is more to the story that needs to be considered as well.

First of all, what a challenging situation to love and care for someone struggling with what is commonly called “gender identity issues,” especially when the person with the struggle is our child.  I certainly would not want to “pile on” any parents struggling with that, but especially for anyone in that situation right now, I want to offer some information for consideration that is getting lost.  I know I would want to know it if I were a parent in this situation.

Sorting Through the Duggar Rubble

The sexual abuse of children is a topic that most would prefer to not talk about, but one that we must be prepared to face.  There are victims among us, and we want to care for them in appropriate and helpful ways.  Avoidance cripples our ability to do that.

The recent revelation of the sexual abuse perpetrated years ago by Josh Duggar – part of the reality TV family at the center of “19 Kids and Counting – puts the issue in our faces, so let me suggest  some things to consider, as well as references that I found helpful for digging deeper.

Pray Each Day With Scotty Smith Using Your Smart Phone

I’ve made it no secret that my own prayer life has been enriched by including the daily prayers of Scotty Smith.  First in his book Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel-Centered Faith and now with his daily “prayer blog” Heavenward on TheGospelCoalition.org blog list, I join him in prayer daily.

Things have gotten better – or at least easier – to do that.

If you have a smart phone search your app store – available free on both Apple and Android – for the PrayerMate app developed by Andy Geers.  Click Here to learn more about PrayerMate from Andy himself.

The Gospel, Identity and Questions of Sexuality

With regard to sexuality and marriage questions, the “message” for my LGBT friends and neighbors is identical to the “message” I have for everyone, including myself.  Whether straight or gay, married or single, old or young, the Gospel sets you free from seeking your core identity in your sexual preferences or performance.  That message impacts different people in different ways, but it means that Jesus offers all of us a new identity – the identity of “in Christ.” This identity then becomes the life-giving source to all other aspects of my life.  “I am not my own, but belong – body and soul, in life and in death – to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”  Those opening words to the Heidelberg Catechism state it well.

Encouragement For Parents - And The Rest of Us As Well!

My wife and I began the parenting adventure in a different century.  That gives us some historical perspective on what parents face today.  

Now, as an overdue grandparent and pastor of young families, I find myself very, very aware of how dramatically the world that we parent in has changed.  Technology, entertainment and social pressures have altered the ocean of life that families will grow in.  No wise parent would face those waters alone.  Here are three GREAT resources for encouraging and equipping parents in this new setting.   

By the way, they are in alphabetical and not rank order.  You’ll want to read them all, even if you are raising only boys or only girls.  Odds are still good that your kids will eventually bring home your potential “child-in-law” and you’ll want to get started understanding that gender NOW!

Resources On MTD

This Sunday, I referred to "Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism" and would like to make a number of resources easily available.  As I said at that time, I am increasingly convinced that MTD is the "Spirit of the Age."  I encourage people to prayerfully and thoughtfully cultivate the discernment to identify MTD's impact in their own life and in their circle of relationships.  No church adertises themselves as an "MTD Church," but all of us face it, many are unaware of its influence on them and some have - whether knowlingly or not - let MTD replace the Gospel of Grace in their ministry.

Meet Hank Spinner . . .

On January 11, I used a video recording of a drama sketch called “The Plate Spinner” written and performed by Willow Creek Church in Chicago.  You could tell it was from the ‘80’s, but it seems sooooo descriptive of the lives we all seem to lead today.   Teens are spinning plates of popularity, school, extra-curricular activities.  Single Moms are spinning a set of plates all their own.  Retirees have their own plates that make demands of them.  You get the picture.  It seems we are ALL busy and distracted with a the wobbling plates of our particular life.

I found a Youtube video of the same script by a different church, so wanted to make that available below.   

The Gospel Advances In A World Of Terrorism

I have a good friend who spends most of his time outside the United States working with missionaries, many of whom are working in "closed Muslim countries."  This past week, with the TV news filled with stories about ISIS threatening Japanese nationals, Islamist rebels advancing in Yemen and backlash against the French handling of the Charlie Hebdo affair I got a secure email from him.  I can't pass it along as it contained information that could compromise missionaries that he works with, but I will pass on - with names and locations deleted - this much:

The latest from FOX NEWS, CNN and the BBC is really: (you pick your phrase...) "making me nervous", "rising fear up inside of me", "really scary"!  Islamic terrorist cell groups being activated in Europe, the news channels are roaring with more news... all of it grabbing our hearts... YET!

Did you know: that more Muslims have become followers of Jesus Christ since 2001 than all the years before.. combined? XXXXXXX,  with whom I am staying in XXXXXXX, shared a few statistics that he has been tracking... and brothers and sisters... the news is really GOOD NEWS...

Martin Luther King, Jr - Gospel Preacher

This past Sunday – January 18, the Sunday before the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday – I read a portion of a sermon by Dr. King as part of my own sermon.  I chose not to reveal whose sermon it was until just before the end, saying to start with that it was “an important sermon from the history of the United States.”  Dr. King’s sermon “Loving Your Enemies” from Matthew 5:43-44 was a good application of the sermon I was preaching from Matthew 4:1-4, and I hoped it would give highlight to Dr. King as a preacher of the Gospel as well.  And let me be honest.  It is a GREAT sermon on its own.  I read it myself four different times that week.

A few friends mentioned to me afterwards that they could have listened more intently and with greater interest if they had known who the preacher was from the very beginning.  I always (try to) appreciate the feedback I get because my target is communicating, not drawing compliments, so let me apologize.  My choice was my mistake.  Aiming for a dramatic high point, I missed the target.
 
Let me back track and fill in some gaps:

First, Click Here to go to Dr. King’s sermon in full.  

A Different Response To Same-Sex Attraction Than You May Have Heard Before

I’d like to encourage you to read this blog post from my friend and colleague Tim Habecker, director of missions/Outreach at Hope EPC here in Spotsylvania County.  It gives important first-hand perspective on matters of homosexuality, same-sex attraction and the Christian faith.

Perhaps you listened to NPR’s Weekend Edition this past Sunday morning. If you did you were introduced to a pastor and his wife from western Pennsylvania. What you likely had no way of knowing is that there is just one degree of separation between you and Allan Edwards…and it is me.  Click Here to read Tim’s entire blog post. 

Click Here to listen to the NPR interview with Tim’s friend Allan.  It is titled “Attracted to Men, Pastor Feels Called To Marriage With A Woman.”

Planning For 2015

Some of these things are still on the drawing board – being prayed through and planned – but they are clearly emerging with the leading of God.  I want to share my encouragement, help you be aware and praying as well as give the Spirit opportunity to begin leading you into your place with what is emerging.  Here are a few of the things on our horizon:

Marriage Inequality – A Problem Caused By Redefining Marriage

How do you ensure that an airplane and an elephant have equal rights?

Huh?!?!??

Answer: You don’t.  An airplane and an elephant are different in so many ways that talking about equality between them is pointless.  The two are simply different, not unequal.

It is absurd to talk about equality between an airplane and an elephant until you first get rid of the difference.

Which is why I say that “Marriage Inequality” is a problem that is caused by redefining marriage.  The romantic union of two men is as different from a marriage of a man and woman as an airplane is different from an elephant.  The two relationships are not unequal.  They are different.  At least until you redefine them in a way that erases or obscures the difference.

Jesus and the Two Mars Hills

 I was struck recently by sad news about the two Mars Hill churches, which reminded me once again of my own need for Jesus.

You know the two Mars Hill churches? 

The one in Seattle was founded by Mark Driscoll and experienced dramatic growth under his spiritually abusive leadership.  Pastor Driscoll resigned recently amidst the scandal of that abusiveness.

The other Mars Hill church is in Grand Rapids, MI.  It was founded and led by Rob Bell until he resigned to pursue his own take on a modern faith.  It was a take that left behind the historic foundations of Christian faith.  Rob and I are graduates of the same seminary.

So You Think God Has Multiple Personalities?

I didn’t set out to be a “Heresy Hunter.”  But once I saw THREE churches in our county that said they believed in “One God who has existed in three personalities: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” I knew I needed to look further.

While I do not and have never thought that these churches were staging a deliberate subterfuge to undermine 16 centuries of Christian belief, I do think that defining the Trinity as “One God with Three Personalities” rather than “One God in Three Persons” is a dangerous misunderstanding with real consequences.  I’m posting this because I have now seen such statements on the websites of other churches in cities that I have recently traveled to.

The Secret Capture of the Church: Why I Hope We Leave Behind the Movie Left Behind

For the record: I do believe that Jesus will return one day to planet Earth – publicly, gloriously, victoriously and savingly – just as He promised.  Those who are alive at His returning will meet Him in the air.  He will judge the world – both those who are alive and those who have died - and He will establish His Kingdom with justice, peace and life as it was created to be.  All of this has been believed by believers across cultures and across centuries and is part of the “faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3)

Here is what I don’t believe:  I do not believe that Jesus will return half-way and silently in order to secretly remove the church and the Holy Spirit from the planet for the seven year Great Tribulation and then “come-again again,” this time to judge and reign for 1,000 years.  These ideas are the product of a particular perspective called Dispensationalism that was unknown among Christians until late in the 19th century.

Why bring it up at all?  Because the peculiar idea of a “pre-trib rapture” followed by a 7-year period of Great Tribulation will be served up for a fourth time by Hollywood on October 3 in the movie Left Behind starring Nicolas Cage (!?!)..  And like leftover food, microwaved and served for a fourth time, I recommend that you just throw it in the garbage once and for all.