A very prominent message in modern American Christianity is that God wants you to be Healthy, Wealthy and Happy. The reason this message is popular is obvious. Who doesn't want to be healthy, wealthy and happy? Those three things sure are at the top of my list.
Where we have to be careful is that we don't approach the truth of God's word looking to pull out the things that we want to hear and ignoring the things that we would rather not. Just last night my family was reading James chapter 1 and I came across this verse "Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. And believers who are rich should boast that God has humbled them."
Wait, I thought that if I followed the 10 commandments, the Golden Rule, attended church, gave in the offering, and read the Bible, I would have a perfect life! I mean isn't that the reason why we follow all the rules and try so hard to be good is so that God will make us happy? Isn't that why we give to the church so that God will give us more?
This phenomenon of only hearing the parts of the Bible that appeal to us is nothing new. Thinking that God wanted us to be healthy, wealthy and happy was very popular in Jesus' day. That is why Jesus had to confront that thinking with shocking statements such as "I tell you the truth, it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven." The people thought that someone was rich because God was blessing them.
Now before you get depressed and go back to Facebook or playing Angry Birds listen up! I don't necessarily think that God wants believers to be Sick, Poor, and Depressed, but I do think that our own pursuit of health, wealth and happiness can be huge road blocks to what God really does want.
As I read the Bible, what I constantly see is that God wants us to be Humble, Loving, Compassionate, and ultimately more like him. The reason why God said it was difficult for rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven is that the more stuff we have the harder it is for us to be humble, loving and compassionate.
I think what God desires for us is succinctly summed up in Jesus saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." The poor in spirit realize life isn't about getting more stuff, but about how God can use my life to touch other people's lives.
I am reminded of this so powerfully when ever I leave the country. I realize that all of our wealth can be a huge distraction to what God desires to do in our lives. God help us to be poor in spirit!
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Is speaking in tongues demonic?
I recently had a student send me a link to a youtube video of John MacArthur preaching on speaking in tongues. I watched the videos and found them quite troubling. John MacArthur seems to be a very educated and convincing speaker on this topic. His premise is basically that speaking in tongues is a satanic counterfeit. His argument is that speaking to god in an ecstatic, gibberish speech is an ancient pagan practice that crept into the early church. Here are his exact words: "The Church has married a system of pagan religion again, and we have developed a sensual, feeling, experiential, erotic approach to religion and called it 'the work of the Holy Spirit' when in fact it is the counterfeit of Satan."
MacArthur's teaching gives us the sense that experiencing God with our senses or feelings isn't biblical. If that is the case why would God tell us to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength? (Mark 12:30) Why would God create us with emotions if they have no place in our experience with him?
MacArthur's primary argument against speaking in tongues is from 1 Corinthians 14. He says that speaking in tongues is "useless to edify." (or build up) Even though verse 4 explicitly says that he who speaks in tongues edifies himself. Later in his message he addresses this verse and says that Paul was being sarcastic in this statement. That anyone who speaks in tongues is building themselves up in a prideful manner.
MacArthur addresses verse 2 which says "For he who speaks in tongues, does not speak to men but to God." MacArthur says that this verse is more accurately translated "He who speaks in tongues...speaks to a god." He says that speaking in tongues is a pagan practice of "speaking to the gods." He says that Paul is condemning a private prayer language. MacArthur says that the gift of speaking in tongues was always directed to other people and that only the pagan version was directed to "a god." If this is the case why does Paul say in verse 28 "But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately?" So Paul is saying it is ok to pray to your false pagan god in tongues as long as you do it privately! I don't think so.
Finally MacArthur says "These people who think that they have some great thing going with their private prayer language with God, that doesn't do them any good because there is no knowledge of what they are saying. Consequently, there is no learning in the mind. Consequently, it is sensual ecstasy. It is a feeling and Christianity has never been predicated upon a feeling." Paul addresses this directly in verse 14 "For if I pray in tongues, my spirit prays but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit and I will also pray with the understanding."
If you haven't seen this video or heard teaching like this you may wonder why I am blogging about this. I am writing for several reasons. 1. To address this false notion that is quite popular "The Bible says that every time someone speaks in tongues it must be interpreted." God's word very clearly teaches that their is a public gift of speaking in tongues in the church that must be interpreted, but their is also the gift of praying in tongues that does not need to be interpreted. 2. To demonstrate that just because someone sounds like they are intelligent and know the Bible and spout a lot of Greek words that what they are saying must be true. It is so important that we as believers study God's word for ourselves and never blindly accept anything that a preacher says.
In closing God does want you to pursue and experience him with your mind, but he also wants you to pursue and experience him with your emotions as well. I firmly believe that praying in tongues is a biblical experience and that the enemy of our soul knows how powerful this can be in our lives so he tries to bring dissension, division and confusion regarding this topic.
MacArthur's teaching gives us the sense that experiencing God with our senses or feelings isn't biblical. If that is the case why would God tell us to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength? (Mark 12:30) Why would God create us with emotions if they have no place in our experience with him?
MacArthur's primary argument against speaking in tongues is from 1 Corinthians 14. He says that speaking in tongues is "useless to edify." (or build up) Even though verse 4 explicitly says that he who speaks in tongues edifies himself. Later in his message he addresses this verse and says that Paul was being sarcastic in this statement. That anyone who speaks in tongues is building themselves up in a prideful manner.
MacArthur addresses verse 2 which says "For he who speaks in tongues, does not speak to men but to God." MacArthur says that this verse is more accurately translated "He who speaks in tongues...speaks to a god." He says that speaking in tongues is a pagan practice of "speaking to the gods." He says that Paul is condemning a private prayer language. MacArthur says that the gift of speaking in tongues was always directed to other people and that only the pagan version was directed to "a god." If this is the case why does Paul say in verse 28 "But if no one is present who can interpret, they must be silent in your church meeting and speak in tongues to God privately?" So Paul is saying it is ok to pray to your false pagan god in tongues as long as you do it privately! I don't think so.
Finally MacArthur says "These people who think that they have some great thing going with their private prayer language with God, that doesn't do them any good because there is no knowledge of what they are saying. Consequently, there is no learning in the mind. Consequently, it is sensual ecstasy. It is a feeling and Christianity has never been predicated upon a feeling." Paul addresses this directly in verse 14 "For if I pray in tongues, my spirit prays but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit and I will also pray with the understanding."
If you haven't seen this video or heard teaching like this you may wonder why I am blogging about this. I am writing for several reasons. 1. To address this false notion that is quite popular "The Bible says that every time someone speaks in tongues it must be interpreted." God's word very clearly teaches that their is a public gift of speaking in tongues in the church that must be interpreted, but their is also the gift of praying in tongues that does not need to be interpreted. 2. To demonstrate that just because someone sounds like they are intelligent and know the Bible and spout a lot of Greek words that what they are saying must be true. It is so important that we as believers study God's word for ourselves and never blindly accept anything that a preacher says.
In closing God does want you to pursue and experience him with your mind, but he also wants you to pursue and experience him with your emotions as well. I firmly believe that praying in tongues is a biblical experience and that the enemy of our soul knows how powerful this can be in our lives so he tries to bring dissension, division and confusion regarding this topic.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Is it a Sin to Question God?
Being a youth pastor I have the privilege of constantly mentoring young people. One of the joys of mentoring students is fielding their questions. One young lady in particular asks very challenging yet amazing questions. I love raw and real questions. I also love being around people who are willing to ask tough questions. Why do I love this so much? Because, I refuse to give pat, churchy, rehearsed answers. I make myself look to God's word for the source of my answers. I must admit I don't always find neat and clean answers to every question, but I am willing to rest in that tension of searching but not always finding what I was looking for.
Growing up in the church my entire life, one of the phrases I heard a lot was "Never Question God!" It sounded to me like it was a sin to question God. I always wondered why. Because as I read the Bible it looked to me like great men and women of faith were constantly questioning God.
Because it is the Christmas season, I was recently studying Luke chapter 1 which begins the story of the birth of Christ. Two characters in this true story are Zechariah and Mary and they have very similar experiences. They both have angels appear to them and tell them that the impossible is going to happen: they are both going to have a baby. Zechariah questions this because both he and his wife are very old and this seems impossible. Mary questions this because she is a virgin and obviously having a baby as a virgin seems impossible to her!
But where their stories diverge is Zechariah is punished for his lack of faith by not being able to speak for 9 months until his wife gives birth. After the angel answers Mary's question of how she will give birth as a virgin Mary's response is beautiful: "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true."
Mary still has a lot of questions. How in the world do you explain to your family and fiancé that God made you pregnant. Also not only was this an extremely awkward situation but dangerous as well. In Mary's village women who became pregnant outside of marriage were killed. Trust me. Mary still had tons of questions as to how this would work, but she still responds to God with faith.
In our lives, I don't think God is threatened or offended by our questions, but what he is waiting for is whether or not we will choose to have faith in him despite our questions. So my encouragement to you is to continue to be willing to ask hard questions, but be courageous enough to have faith in the midst of those questions.
Growing up in the church my entire life, one of the phrases I heard a lot was "Never Question God!" It sounded to me like it was a sin to question God. I always wondered why. Because as I read the Bible it looked to me like great men and women of faith were constantly questioning God.
Because it is the Christmas season, I was recently studying Luke chapter 1 which begins the story of the birth of Christ. Two characters in this true story are Zechariah and Mary and they have very similar experiences. They both have angels appear to them and tell them that the impossible is going to happen: they are both going to have a baby. Zechariah questions this because both he and his wife are very old and this seems impossible. Mary questions this because she is a virgin and obviously having a baby as a virgin seems impossible to her!
But where their stories diverge is Zechariah is punished for his lack of faith by not being able to speak for 9 months until his wife gives birth. After the angel answers Mary's question of how she will give birth as a virgin Mary's response is beautiful: "I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true."
Mary still has a lot of questions. How in the world do you explain to your family and fiancé that God made you pregnant. Also not only was this an extremely awkward situation but dangerous as well. In Mary's village women who became pregnant outside of marriage were killed. Trust me. Mary still had tons of questions as to how this would work, but she still responds to God with faith.
In our lives, I don't think God is threatened or offended by our questions, but what he is waiting for is whether or not we will choose to have faith in him despite our questions. So my encouragement to you is to continue to be willing to ask hard questions, but be courageous enough to have faith in the midst of those questions.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
I wish I could take that out of the Bible!
Have you ever been reading the Bible and stumble across a part that you wish you could take out? I do all the time. Here are a couple examples: Genesis 6:4 which seems to say that Angels procreated with humans to make a race of Giants. Weird! I have no idea how to explain that one! Or the extremely disturbing story in Judges 19-21 of a Benjamite's concubine who gets raped and dies so he cuts up her body into 12 parts and sends them with messengers to the 12 tribes of Israel which then causes a civil war where thousands die. Yes, that story is actually in the Bible!
I guess the other parts of the Bible that I really wish I could edit out are the parts that hit too close to home. Like for instance I was reading this morning in James 1 "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy." What? How backwards is that? When trouble comes my way, it is an opportunity for joy. No, not just joy but great joy? How is that possible?
Listen to what he goes onto say: "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." I guess this part makes sense. Our faith is like a muscle and it only grows when it is challenged or tested. He says that when our faith is tested our endurance has a chance to grow. Once again, that doesn't sound like fun at all.
I don't know about you, but I absolutely hate running (which is probably one of the greatest tests of endurance.) In fact, I seriously doubt anyone who says they love running. Think about it. Have you ever in your life seen a runner with a smile on their face? The only time they smile is when they finish the race and stop running!
Actually, I have a lot of respect for runners. They have amazing endurance. Endurance is extremely simple yet unbelievably challenging. It is simply telling your body to keep going when it is screaming at you to quit.
James is telling us that Faith is just like running. Our circumstances and troubles are screaming at us to give up, to throw in the towel, but when we decide to continue to trust God in spite of our troubles our faith gets stronger. I wish their was an easier way for my faith to grow, but this seems to be the way it works.
So like any good coach, I am challenging you today to refuse to give up, to keep on believing regardless of the opposition you may face. Listen to what else James has to say: "So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
I guess the other parts of the Bible that I really wish I could edit out are the parts that hit too close to home. Like for instance I was reading this morning in James 1 "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy." What? How backwards is that? When trouble comes my way, it is an opportunity for joy. No, not just joy but great joy? How is that possible?
Listen to what he goes onto say: "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow." I guess this part makes sense. Our faith is like a muscle and it only grows when it is challenged or tested. He says that when our faith is tested our endurance has a chance to grow. Once again, that doesn't sound like fun at all.
I don't know about you, but I absolutely hate running (which is probably one of the greatest tests of endurance.) In fact, I seriously doubt anyone who says they love running. Think about it. Have you ever in your life seen a runner with a smile on their face? The only time they smile is when they finish the race and stop running!
Actually, I have a lot of respect for runners. They have amazing endurance. Endurance is extremely simple yet unbelievably challenging. It is simply telling your body to keep going when it is screaming at you to quit.
James is telling us that Faith is just like running. Our circumstances and troubles are screaming at us to give up, to throw in the towel, but when we decide to continue to trust God in spite of our troubles our faith gets stronger. I wish their was an easier way for my faith to grow, but this seems to be the way it works.
So like any good coach, I am challenging you today to refuse to give up, to keep on believing regardless of the opposition you may face. Listen to what else James has to say: "So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Is there laser tag in heaven?
Recently around the breakfast table my wife asked the question, "Didn't someone predict that Jesus was coming back in October?" Our middle daughter asked a great question, "What is he coming back for?" I said that he was coming back to take Christians to heaven. She then had this very sad troubled look on her face. I tried to tell her about how amazing heaven really is. I told her it was even better than "Incredible Pizza" (An amazing pizza place, with games, laser tag and such) My youngest daughter excitedly joined the conversation with this question, "Will there be laser tag in heaven?"
All our attempts to convince our daughter of how great heaven is, were not working. She then asked, "Will all my friends be there?" I said if they were Christians they would be. She then with great frustration said, "I don't want to go to heaven, I really like earth!"
This humorous moment with my daughters revealed their attitude about this world, but I think it is indicative often times of our attitude as well. We can be tempted to think that this world is really all there is to life. When we get sucked into this way of thinking, we can get greedy and try to grab all we can grab for ourselves.
My wife and I just recently returned from a missions trip to El Salvador. Every time I travel to another country I am always struck by the poverty I see. The average income of a pastor in El Salvador is $10 a month! The interesting thing is that when I realize how wealthy I am in comparison to my Christian brothers and sisters around the world, it doesn't make me want to hold onto my wealth tighter but to give it away.
In these situations I am always reminded of what I read this morning in Hebrews 13:14 "For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come." Understanding how temporary this world is, will change the way I live. It will change the way I treat others. It will change the way I spend my time and money. It is crucial that we grasp this concept.
All our attempts to convince our daughter of how great heaven is, were not working. She then asked, "Will all my friends be there?" I said if they were Christians they would be. She then with great frustration said, "I don't want to go to heaven, I really like earth!"
This humorous moment with my daughters revealed their attitude about this world, but I think it is indicative often times of our attitude as well. We can be tempted to think that this world is really all there is to life. When we get sucked into this way of thinking, we can get greedy and try to grab all we can grab for ourselves.
My wife and I just recently returned from a missions trip to El Salvador. Every time I travel to another country I am always struck by the poverty I see. The average income of a pastor in El Salvador is $10 a month! The interesting thing is that when I realize how wealthy I am in comparison to my Christian brothers and sisters around the world, it doesn't make me want to hold onto my wealth tighter but to give it away.
In these situations I am always reminded of what I read this morning in Hebrews 13:14 "For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come." Understanding how temporary this world is, will change the way I live. It will change the way I treat others. It will change the way I spend my time and money. It is crucial that we grasp this concept.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
I really am a horrible person!
Almost everyday I pass a man sitting on the side of the road with a sign which says "Homeless and Hungry, Anything Will Help, God Bless. Everyday I feel justified in not doing anything about his situation because I say to myself, "He is just a con-man looking for a hand out. He will just use my money to buy drugs or alcohol."
This morning my wife walks into my office and says "I want to go pray for the homeless man and I need you to come with me." I must admit that my typical reaction when my wife asks me to join her in something like this, is that I drag my feet. For whatever reason, today I was a willing accomplice. We drove over to where he was, got out of our car and walked over to him. He didn't see us coming, so when we spoke to him it about scarred him out of his skin. I had to keep reassuring him that we were not going to hurt him. I told him we were there to help him and not to hurt him.
I asked him how he became homeless. He went into a 5 minute explanation of how he ended up where he was. In my spirit I really believed what he had to say. I told him that we were Christians and wanted to help him. I told him that we would go buy him a blanket and return. My wife recognized that our work with this man wasn't complete. She began to share the Gospel with him and asked him if he wanted to surrender his life to Jesus. He emphatically said "Yes I do, but I don't know how to do that." We led him in a prayer of confession and surrender to Jesus.
After we prayed his face changed dramatically and he said "Am I . . . what do you call what I am now?" My wife said "Your Saved." He began to get really excited and "Yeah that's it. I am saved." We told him about our church and offered to pick him up on Sunday. He was thrilled at the opportunity.
We then went back to our car. I told Dianne, "I repent of every time I have ever looked at a homeless person with harden heart and said, 'They are just a con-artist looking for a hand out.'" We then went and bought him a blanket and hot coffee.
When we went back and handed him the blanket and the coffee, I said "God Bless You." I immediately thought of James 2:15-17 - Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "God bless you and have a good day; stay warm and eat well" -- but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Listen to how the Message words that last statement: "Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?" For too long I have had the "God-talk" part down but have been lacking in the "God-acts" department. This whole experience reminded me of how truly alive I feel when I am doing God-acts. We don't do God-acts out of quilt or obligation but because of the thrill of being a part of God's mission and His story.
I challenge you to keep your eyes, ears and heart open to those God-acts he may prompt you to do today.
This morning my wife walks into my office and says "I want to go pray for the homeless man and I need you to come with me." I must admit that my typical reaction when my wife asks me to join her in something like this, is that I drag my feet. For whatever reason, today I was a willing accomplice. We drove over to where he was, got out of our car and walked over to him. He didn't see us coming, so when we spoke to him it about scarred him out of his skin. I had to keep reassuring him that we were not going to hurt him. I told him we were there to help him and not to hurt him.
I asked him how he became homeless. He went into a 5 minute explanation of how he ended up where he was. In my spirit I really believed what he had to say. I told him that we were Christians and wanted to help him. I told him that we would go buy him a blanket and return. My wife recognized that our work with this man wasn't complete. She began to share the Gospel with him and asked him if he wanted to surrender his life to Jesus. He emphatically said "Yes I do, but I don't know how to do that." We led him in a prayer of confession and surrender to Jesus.
After we prayed his face changed dramatically and he said "Am I . . . what do you call what I am now?" My wife said "Your Saved." He began to get really excited and "Yeah that's it. I am saved." We told him about our church and offered to pick him up on Sunday. He was thrilled at the opportunity.
We then went back to our car. I told Dianne, "I repent of every time I have ever looked at a homeless person with harden heart and said, 'They are just a con-artist looking for a hand out.'" We then went and bought him a blanket and hot coffee.
When we went back and handed him the blanket and the coffee, I said "God Bless You." I immediately thought of James 2:15-17 - Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, "God bless you and have a good day; stay warm and eat well" -- but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn't enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
Listen to how the Message words that last statement: "Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?" For too long I have had the "God-talk" part down but have been lacking in the "God-acts" department. This whole experience reminded me of how truly alive I feel when I am doing God-acts. We don't do God-acts out of quilt or obligation but because of the thrill of being a part of God's mission and His story.
I challenge you to keep your eyes, ears and heart open to those God-acts he may prompt you to do today.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Are You Listening?
When I was a kid I had this horrible habit of running in and out of the house and leaving the door open. A habit which drove my parents crazy. My parents told me that if I left the house again and left the door open, I would get a spanking. Sometime later, I was caught by my dad leaving the house with the door open again. Well he spanked me and I remember it being an especially effective one. After laying on the floor for some time crying, I got up and left the house WITH THE DOOR OPEN!
I was guilty of doing something that children do quite often: HEARING WITHOUT LISTENING! In that moment, I didn't disobey my parents imperative because I was being rebellious, but because I was being careless.
Listen to what Hebrews 2:1 says: "So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it." I find this verse very intriguing. It says to listen very carefully to the truth we have heard. How do you listen to something you have already heard?
Listening and hearing are obviously two completely different actions. Our ears hear things all the time but we are not really listening. There are millions of people in our world who have heard the truth of God's word again and again but have never really listened to it.
Listening means more than just your ears picking up sounds. Listening means you have processed what you have heard and are willing to take action upon what you have heard. The writer of Hebrews is speaking to people who have obviously heard the truth of God's word but he is instructing them to listen very carefully.
I believe God wants to speak to us continuously, but are we willing to take the time and energy to listen very carefully? It is crucial that we listen. The writer of Hebrews says that if we don't listen very carefully to the truth we have heard we may drift away from it.
Just like my childhood disobedience, people don't drift away from the truth out of rebellion but out of carelessness. People in rebellion against God run away, people who are careless drift away. Which I believe is even more dangerous than rebellion because we may not ever be aware that it is happening.
So I challenge you today, to listen very carefully to the truth. Maybe you don't remember the last time you read the Bible. I dare you to open it and allow God to speak to you. Maybe God will speak to you through another person, through difficult circumstances or through your day to day activities.
Whatever it is just please listen very carefully!
I was guilty of doing something that children do quite often: HEARING WITHOUT LISTENING! In that moment, I didn't disobey my parents imperative because I was being rebellious, but because I was being careless.
Listen to what Hebrews 2:1 says: "So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it." I find this verse very intriguing. It says to listen very carefully to the truth we have heard. How do you listen to something you have already heard?
Listening and hearing are obviously two completely different actions. Our ears hear things all the time but we are not really listening. There are millions of people in our world who have heard the truth of God's word again and again but have never really listened to it.
Listening means more than just your ears picking up sounds. Listening means you have processed what you have heard and are willing to take action upon what you have heard. The writer of Hebrews is speaking to people who have obviously heard the truth of God's word but he is instructing them to listen very carefully.
I believe God wants to speak to us continuously, but are we willing to take the time and energy to listen very carefully? It is crucial that we listen. The writer of Hebrews says that if we don't listen very carefully to the truth we have heard we may drift away from it.
Just like my childhood disobedience, people don't drift away from the truth out of rebellion but out of carelessness. People in rebellion against God run away, people who are careless drift away. Which I believe is even more dangerous than rebellion because we may not ever be aware that it is happening.
So I challenge you today, to listen very carefully to the truth. Maybe you don't remember the last time you read the Bible. I dare you to open it and allow God to speak to you. Maybe God will speak to you through another person, through difficult circumstances or through your day to day activities.
Whatever it is just please listen very carefully!
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