More Than a Feeling

I've been impressed at how quickly a good country song can take me, in just 4 minutes, from tapping my toe to crying.  I've also stood in the edge of the ocean and, in about the same amount of time, felt the waves take sand from under my feet and bury them without any effort on my part.

Emotions are sand.  And what did Christ tell us about the house built on sand (Matthew 7:26-27)?  Too many in our culture build their worship experiences and their marriage relationships on emotions.

This World Is Not My Home; I'm Just a-Shirking Through

When some mess in our nation or in the Christian church is motivating a discussion with opposing views, I will occasionally observe someone saying, "At the end of the day, this earth is not our final destination and these worldly matters are distracting us from our relationship with God."

If a personal relationship with God is all that matters, then why are we still here? Once that relationship has been established, why not just go immediately to be with Him?

Apparently, the One with Whom we are in relationship wants to see growth in that relationship via a life on this earth. Apparently, He wants us to honor Him by how we live here on this planet, by how we seek His face, by how we heed His Word, by how we engage with our neighbors, and by how we love those neighbors through our votes (or abstentions) in regard to policies (and politicians) that will certainly affect those neighbors.

As long as you're tryin' to do what's right ..., right?

"In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." -- Judges 17:6 & 21:25

This verse is not a compliment to the culture in Israel during the time of the judges. This verse shows up twice in the book of Judges as book-ends to two very strange stories that show the depravity of a culture where God, the One Who is Truth, Beauty, & Goodness, had been all but forgotten. But if the implication of those crazy stories doesn't quite convince you that "every man doing what was right in his own eyes" was actually a bad thing, then please consider the following clear instruction from Deuteronomy 12:8 -- "Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes."

Have you ever been to a church where you were encouraged to worship the Lord in your own way? Were you ever given the impression that God doesn't care so much about what you do or how you do it as long as your why (your motive) is right? Sure, if your motive is wrong, that's not good. But as long as your doing "whatsoever is right in your own eyes," well, then ....

How long halt ye between two opinions?

What will Americans do when hit by a severe drought?  Cut themselves?  Shout louder?  I can see them doing that, crying out to Baal  --  I mean, the POTUS, the IRS, HUD, NSA, or whatever name he goes by now.  And it'll likely have a similar effect to that of some 28.5 centuries ago ...

On the Sabbath ...

My general perspective is "Yeah, Sabbath!"

Honestly, I haven't "studied" the Sabbath much in depth or in particular. But, as with many of the beliefs which I'm presently adopting and of which I'm becoming more convinced, observing Sabbath is one that, frankly, I want to believe ... because it seems to be just another of the innumerable blessings that God has graciously given His people. -- Yes, that's right: Sabbath is a blessing!

One other very important qualifier: I believe that the Ten Commandments are still relevant today and to be completely obeyed. I do not believe (as others hold) that God took them away with the advent of Christ and then brought nine back, with the one exclusion being the Sabbath.

"1 - What is the purpose of the Sabbath?"
1. Since Sabbath means rest, my guess is that the purpose is to rest.
.......a. Exodus 20:11 appeals to the Creation and not just to Mount Sinai in justifying this command when it states that God Himself rested on the seventh day and hallowed it after six days of work. -- God rested. God commanded us, including servants and animals, to rest.
.......b. If our faith is truly in God, then we must acknowledge that the reason our six days of work are blessed with fruit (money, possessions, etc.) is because God is graciously blessing our obedience -- not because there is some objective magic formula that states "all work yields product" and God just happens to agree. Thus, it does not follow that if 6 days of work bring more fruit than 5 days of work, then 7 must be even better ... because that then becomes disobedience. -- Trust God with your work, trust God in your rest.
.......c. Jesus Christ is the more glorious manifestation of the covenant, including the Sabbath. Christ is our Sabbath, granting us relief from the weight of sin. He also strengthens us for our kingdom labors, just as rest rejuvenates. -- Hebrews 4:1-11

"2 - What is the relationship between the 'sabbath observance' and 'meeting for worshiping the Lord'?"
2. People normally stop work to eat. We often sit down (a resting position) when we eat. Many in Biblical times reclined as they ate. It is Christ's body that we eat as we partake of communion in corporate worship. From Him we gain strength, not just because He is our Rest but because He is also our Bread (and our Wine and our Oil) -- Psalm 104:15. -- I think this question needs further discussion; I will simply refer you to the other portions of this email for now.

"3 - Is there a valid biblical argument for a Saturday vs Sunday Sabbath observance?"
3. There are Biblical arguments for both (Saturday vs Sunday), but which one is valid? I'd probably cast my vote for Sunday. I've heard arguments for this based upon Christ's resurrection taking place on the first day of the week ... something about the early church transitioning their synagoguing from the seventh day sabbath (from OT times) to the Lord's day (the first week day) -- Acts 20:7, I Cor. 16:2.

"4 - Are we free to observe the Sabbath on any given day of the week?"
4. Generally, I don't think so. But if extraordinary circumstances prevent a normal Sunday observance, then another day might be substituted (as I'm told that Stonewall Jackson did during the Civil War).

Celebrate the Sabbath. Christ stated, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28). My Pastor (Wilson) has explained: "God did not create men in order to have someone around who could keep the sabbath. It was the other way around. The sabbath is a servant to man (v. 27), under the authority of God. This brought the conclusion. This does not mean that autonomous man gets to decide that whatever he wants to do is okay on the sabbath. The reasoning must always be biblical, and in submission to the Son of Man (v. 28). But the Son of Man is not as uptight as some people think." The Sabbath is to be enjoyed.

Finally, please allow me to simply describe sabbath observance in our home: We generally observe Sabbath from 6 pm Saturday to 6 pm Sunday (sort of Jewish, I think, but that's not the only reason why). At 6 pm Saturday, we sit down to a very nice dinner (which my wife has worked hard up to that point to prepare) with tablecloth, our best dishware, wine glasses, hot food including some meat, and a chilled wine. Sometime during supper, we raise our glasses and sing the Doxology (in one of several available forms). We may sometimes have dessert, but not always. After cleanup, we have some family devotions. Then we may play games, wrestle, watch a movie, or some combination thereof. (If it hadn't happened yet, we also get bodies and clothes ready for Sunday's corporate worship; but I really like it when this is done before 6 pm as well.)
.......Sunday goes pretty much as expected. I try to loudly play some Gospel music in the morning to encourage the children up and getting ready for church. It simply begs to be discussed what our approaches and perspectives are about heading to church and worshiping God corporately, including regular call to worship, confession, consecration, communion, and commissioning; but that will have to wait for another time. Our children stay with us throughout the entire worship service; we give them candy during the sermon.
.......We usually have leftovers from the previous evening's delicious meal, so no complaints there. We still try to ensure that Sunday afternoon is a good time.

Transgender Worship (by Joost Nixon)

It seems that as modern worship has moved toward the front of the church, men have snuck out the back. The executive producer of St. Anne's Public House and pastor of Christ Church in Spokane, WA reveals an interesting connection between these two issues.

(It's in video format because I don't know a feasible way to upload audio to blogger.)

We Lift Them Up to the Lord

His hands were trembling the most, though his whole body quivered. He felt so … naked, even in this crowd – especially in this crowd. Never before did the shabbiness of his fig-leaf sewing seem so obvious.

Yet here he stood: not daring to look up, holding something above his head, something that throbbed, sizzled, and oozed. The sizzling and oozing came from the charring ulcer which ate away at it. The black ooze and bright red blood streamed through his fingers, down his arms, and over his body. The blood he didn’t mind so much, but the ooze seemed to sting and kill wherever it touched.

Why was he here? In his condition, this seemed to be the last place he should want to be and the last thing he should ever want to do.

But the pastor had said, “Lift up your hearts.” So here he was, doing just that. But what would God want with a heart eaten away by sin? Wouldn’t He just throw it away? But then perhaps He would provide a new one, a healthy one. But even so, what would prevent it from dying like the first?

That’s when, somehow, he began to realize something about the blood. The blood was not his. It was pure blood, pouring over his body, chasing the black ooze, diluting it, indeed washing it away. And as he glanced down through the wet blur from his eyes, he also noticed that he wasn’t naked either. The fig leaves were gone, and a clean, bright, white robe now completely covered him. “Wha- …, how …? Why?”

“If You, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.” – Psalm 130:3-4

Why, What, & How

Ezra 6:21 (NIV) says, “So the Israelites who had returned from the exile ate [the Passover], together with all who had separated themselves from the unclean practices of their Gentile neighbors in order to seek the LORD, the God of Israel.” This verse tells us that the Israelites, in order to seek the LORD, had separated themselves from the unclean practices of the Gentiles.

The way some preachers present the Gospel, you could think that the only distinction between believers and unbelievers is to be found in the heart, where, of course, it cannot be found by human eyes. But this verse in Ezra states plainly, what can also be found throughout the whole of Scripture, that there must also be a distinction in practice. In other exhortations, I have endeavored to clarify and illustrate this basic principle – “The attitude of the heart affects the action of the hand” (as I put it), or “Theology flows out your fingertips” (as Pastor Douglas Wilson puts it), or “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (as our Lord Jesus Christ puts it: Matthew 15:19).

So, between those who are the people of God and those who are not, distinctions must be maintained not only in the why but also in the what (not only in the heart but also in the practice). The afore-mentioned preachers, even though their preaching may not always clearly yield this perception, will generally concede this truth, at least, to some extent; although, I still doubt that such concession is as comprehensive as it ought to be. But even less is the extent to which they will concede the following: that there also needs to be a noticeable distinction in the how (the way that we do what we do). We must have Christian reasons for what we do; we must do Christian things; and we must do them the Christian way.

From the New International Version of Deuteronomy 12, we observe the following: In verses 2 and 3, the Holy Spirit inspires Moses to command the people to destroy everything associated with heathen worship upon conquering the promised land. Then, in verse 4, he says, “You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.” (emphasis mine) So with that, let’s begin an investigation of the Holy Scriptures for evidences of this principle of distinction, specifically as it applies to worship.

Seeker-Sensitive Ark-Bearing

The first part of 1 Chronicles 13, by quoting some highlights, can be summarized as follows: “David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, ‘If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the LORD our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our brothers …. Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, ….’ The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people. … They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. … When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD’s anger burned against Uzzah, and He struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he did there before God.” (verses 1-4, 7, 9-10, NIV) Then in chapter 15, we read, “[David] prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, ‘No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the LORD chose them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister before Him forever.’ … [David] called together the descendants of Aaron and the Levites: ….” He summoned their chiefs and “said to them, ‘You are the heads of the Levitical families; you and your fellow Levites are to consecrate yourselves and bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place I have prepared for it. It was because you, the Levites, did not bring it up the first time that the LORD our God broke our in anger against us. We did not inquire of Him about how to do it in the prescribed way.’” (verses 1-2, 4, 11-13, NIV, my emphasis added)

When preparing this exhortation, I was intrigued to observe that, in I Chronicles 13, we are told specifically that “David conferred with each of his officers” (v. 1) about bringing up the ark of the covenant and that “The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people” (v. 4). Before noticing that, I had thought of pretending to read the passage something like this, “David desired to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. So he ordered that a poll be taken of those people within a particular demographic range to determine the most popular and effective way to transport a sacred covenantal ark. The results of that study showed that most people between the ages of 15 and 55 felt most inspired and motivated whenever they observed a covenantal ark traveling on a cart being pulled by a team of oxen. … And, as you know, the results were tragic.”

The idea being, of course, to ultimately show that God was not displeased with just what was done, even with the supposed good intentions, but how it was being done –- that the focus of our worship should be more than what we’re doing or why, but also how. And even though the irreverence with its consequence was most clearly exhibited by one individual, the corporate body still bore responsibility. But there is no need to misread the text; for the actual Scripture Itself seems to hint already at the correlation between disaster and seeker-sensitive ark-bearing.

You Are What You Believe

Have you ever observed the following interesting comparisons and contrasts about some of your friends and acquaintances? You have some who, as you have acutely observed from time to time, seem to have some unusual theological perspectives, yet they appear to have a very Godly home, a great desire for the truth of God's Word, a bountiful love for the things of God, and a healthy appreciation of God's world. Then you know others whose theology much more closely aligns with your own, and yet their walk with God seems ... well, ... let's just say that you have some concerns about the direction in which some of their current trends may be taking them.

Hhmmm.... It's pretty easy to see what I'm getting at, isn't it? Now don't start running through all your reasons for ignoring the obvious. Don't tell me about how "Life's more complicated than that," or "It's the attitude of the heart that matters," or "God cares about the motivation behind my friends' behaviors more than the behaviors themselves," or that "Only eternity will show who was pleasing God and who wasn't."

Ignoring obvious truths usually coincides with also subscribing to pragmatic alternative falsehoods. Such falsehoods might be summed up in statements like "Unity means not focusing on those areas of disagreement with my brother," or "If it's not an absolute worthy of becoming a test of fellowship, then it's not worth arguing over," and other such similarities to the world's perspective on tolerance.

Are you willing to sacrifice your marriage, your children, your congregation, or your country for the sake of avoiding argument? What if your Christian brother is right and you're wrong about a particular doctrine? If you really love truth, shouldn't you be gratefully desirous of what he could teach you? If you really love your brother, shouldn't you be desiring greatly that he would benefit from what you could teach him? If you are convinced of what you believe, then a poor argument from your brother should only solidify your convictions. But if your beliefs currently stand upon a weak foundation, well then ... perhaps that's really why you're avoiding debate.

Just in case the big point here is in danger of getting missed, let me state plainly: What you believe affects what you do. What you do affects what you and those around you become. What you become – what you are – has everything to do with the whole purpose for which God created you.