I’ll be on a break from this blog until October 7th. It’s a good time to catch up on previous blogs as well as visit some of the links to the right on this page. God bless you and keep you all in His grace and mercy.
…especially UBC’s!
I’m sitting in a different favorite cafe’ on Dickson Street during “Bike, Blues and BBQ”. It’s early enough in the morning that the bikes aren’t quite flooding the street just yet. In case your not aware a few hundred thousand bikers come to Fayetteville for this event.
Besides the people of UBC, I love Fayetteville because it is diverse. A few guys sitting next to me (not the normal clientele) were trying to order breakfast. I’m pretty sure I heard a request for an egg omelet with shards of glass; a request to replace the bacon with strips of leather; and grits. Well, I’m sure I’m exaggerating their request, but they looked like they could eat it if they wanted to! Walking in comes a “guy” (I quote the term not because I question his gender, only my interpretation of what a “guy” is) carrying the equivalent of a man-purse with a large sunflower on it.
Now, had the guy walked in later and the men sitting next to me not had enough to eat, I’m pretty sure I would have never seen the guy with the man-purse ever again. But I digress.
This event with bikers certainly creates a wider gap in the Fayetteville culture than normal, but on a regular week Fayetteville is just plain diverse. It reminds me of Austin, TX in many ways: Lots of art, politics, university students, bikers and people with guns. Basically, you have people who hug trees and people who shoot stuff out of them (hopefully NOT the people hugging the trees). Okay, now I REALLY digress.
Overall point. We all may identify with a particular part of our culture in our own backyard, and that is somewhat inevitable. However, we are to have better eyes than that as we increasingly love Christ more and this world less.
Paul states in 2 Corinthians 5:16, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.” We need the spiritual eyes that only the Holy Spirit can give. There are those lost and without hope in the world, no matter what their culture is. There are those part of the body of Christ needing encouragement, perhaps even a rebuke, no matter what their culture is. We are either united by the greatest point of unity, the cross, or we are divided by the greatest point of division, the cross. Regardless, if we can begin to look more according to the Spirit and not the flesh, we will see others in the shadow of the cross, regardless of their culture.
Paul goes on in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
I believe that one of the greatest questions of self-evaluation for how much we love the world is, “How do I see the world (people) around me?” That may seem awfully light, but it is of great import. What culture do you think will be in heaven? Cultures are defined by the people (their language, mores, traditions…). Heaven is defined by the presence of God in the glory of Christ.
Paul Tripp is an excellent author and speaker. I love his strong, but gentle, spirit (probably because it seems so different than mine…sanctify me, oh Lord!). This video clip is promoting a conference this week, but the message is timely. Many of you may not DO some terrible thing to your family, but many of us have blown it with our speech.
3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
James 3:1-12
Sorry! Had to remove the link to the video. The Way International changed the link to go to their main site. I think the increased traffic raised some eyebrows. I don’t want to disrespect them, but I certainly don’t want more attention drawn to their teaching, which is one more brand of man-centered, positive thinking teaching.
Some of you are familiar with Thabiti Anyabwile, the author of What is a Healthy Church Member. He recently blogged with keen insight after a trip to Scotland. Read the blog HERE.
I’m sitting in a favorite cafe’ reading through some commentary material in preparation of Sunday’s message and cannot help but overhear a few conversations around me. To my right are two guys that, when I arrived, were talking about business. To my left is a gentleman that I distinctly noticed as being heavy hearted, if not depressed. He’s wearing a shirt bearing the logo of his company and he’s pouring over something related to work.
The phone rings. The gentleman to my left becomes clearly agitated and begins cursing. Obviously a lack of peace to say the least. The guys on the right had since changed conversation to the things of Christ (whether it was a witnessing opportunity I don’t know)…clearly the business discussion was fading into the background while the guy on the left had seen business come so much to the foreground that everything else seemed to be in its shadow.
Meanwhile, I’m reading about the promised Holy Spirit in John 14. The two-fold description Christ gives the disciples in this section (vv.25-31) is that the Spirit is a teacher of truth and the giver of peace. The stark contrast of the conversations around me seem to provide a pretty clear word-picture of the very thing I’m reading.
I cannot say if the guy to the left is or is not a believer. But the fruit of peace in that moment was absent. What marks you? The Spirit of God is the giver of peace. Is the world and its concerns choking your peace, or are you allowing the Spirit to put things in their proper perspective so that the things of the world do not appear bigger than they really are?
In a sense, this is why I throw BIG doctrines at the body of UBC. I pray that the Spirit of God would work through the sword of the Spirit (the Word) in your lives to keep things in their proper perspective so that the believer both knows peace AND shows peace.
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
Read the article HERE. Any observer of culture knows the basic tenet of the waves of “progress” culturally flowing from Europe, to the East and West Coasts of the United States, and then through the heartland. These initial rulings in Britain relate to civil law, particularly cases of family disputes, inheritance and marriage. There are many problematic issues here politically, especially concerning how sovereign is the state in which foreigners live and are citizens. While the laws cannot be enforced on a non-Muslim, the running of parallel legislatures in a given country will lead to the loss of identity and sovereignty. It’s similar to adopting a second, and equal, national language. Laws define a people.
The mixing of cultures has led to the overthrowing of governing powers throughout history. In fact, it is strategic. Well, the thought is provoking for political discussion, but what about the church?
Church leaders in Britain are concerned and see this as highly problematic and for good reason. The civil laws will touch churches long before criminal laws will. Hate speech and other crimes will easily be attached to the preaching against certain practices and lifestyles especially if they have equal recognition and acceptability within a culture.
That said, in my best British accent… “I ain’t skeered.” God is sovereign and will draw His own from every tribe tongue and nation (Rev.7:9). He has established the times and the epochs (Acts 1:7). He will accomplish His purposes and man cannot thwart them (Isa.45:7). One day Christ will return at just the right time and do away with former things (2 Peter 3:10). And…
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
2 Peter 3:11-13
Be who you are called to be. Do not fear men, what can they do to you? Live. Walk. Share the GOSPEL! Stop dabbling in the lusts of this world! Start living like it matters. One day, you may have to make a choice to live pleasing to men legally, or pleasing to God illegally. That decision is mostly made during times of freedom.
HERE is a well written article in Christianity Today on a new book by Stephen Nichols, Jesus Made in America: A Cultural History from the Puritans to the Passion of the Christ. My interest is piqued!
This really has no spiritually redeeming value, but it may give you a bit of insight into my sense of humor. Enjoy…
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