The Sound of Forehands Clapping

“They wanted to know how a loving God could let people go to hell.”

What kind of love would seek to prevent or pervert justice? It’s very common for parents to blindly defend their children when they’ve committed grievous acts, but is that right of them? At the same time, if a parent does agree with the need for their children to be brought to justice and yet does so without any sadness something is also wrong.

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This is for those who know me and are curious who this Mark is that I am doing the RBMW series with. I met Mark by unwisely and, yes, publicly critiquing one of his reviews at Discerning Reader. In retrospect I’ll just say this: It was worth every key press. :D

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It’s been almost a week since a new post for those who haven’t noticed. Some difficult affairs have taken place lately and so the blog is on a hiatus for the time being. Mark Tubbs has been kind enough to postpone our series on RBMW for a bit.

You’re prayers would be appreciated. Though you don’t know the details, the Spirit does and he’ll fill in the blanks. Colossians 4:2-6

I know I haven’t blogged much lately. I have alot on my plate that I am working through. I have had to prioritize my intake and stay committed to those things that I have, well, already committed to.

I’m on the bus right now after work. On the way to the bus stop I found myself thinking about the gap that exists between what we say we believe and we do believe.

I think knowledge is an important aspect of the christian way, but there is a constant battle for our heart to be inline with our knowledge. When we stop fighting that battle we begin losing it.

For me when I walk away from that battle I eventually find myself broken down saying “How’d I get here? What’s the trick to get out of here??” I think I must be missing something, but the reality (as God innevitably reveals it to me) is that I have all the truth I need, but have simply been neglecting it. I am talking about basic things here: The gospel, Gods love for me, His soverignty, and so on.

This has been my experience at least. When I stop meditating, wrestling with, fighting to believe on the simple truths of the faith I wonder away and after a time it’s those simple truths that the Spirit uses to restore me.

Even the methods are simple: Pray, read your bible, walk in the light. God hasn’t made this walk difficult. We make it difficult! I am just now remembering a chat status message that a friend of mine often uses: “God loves you. Read your Bible.” I mean, part of me says “That’s silly” but another part of me says “Yep, that’s it.”

Anyways, there’s some random thoughts. Back to the fight I go!

The health, wealth and prosperity gospel is a filthy rag. Now don’t get me wrong. I once believed it and I have friends that still do, so this issue for me is not a those people kind of thing. No, a big reason for why I hate this false teaching so much is precisely because I love these friends.

A question I wrestle with is “Why are Christians lured to this false teaching?” If we are honest about possible answers then an in your face obvious one is that this teaching, instead of combating, can exploit the greed and idolatry of materialism present in Gods sons and daughters. It hurts to think about that with relation to my friends, but I think it’s an obvious possibility.

Another one is the desire for healing from those who are desperately in need of it. This is one of the ugliest aspects of this theology. I’ve seen this theology wreak spiritual and emotional havoc on Gods children. When the promised healing does not come you are seemingly left with only two conclusions: 1) You are the problem – lack of faith or hidden sin or 2) God is the problem – He is a liar or He does not existent.

I have seen people embrace option 1 and 2 and the paths they lead to, though different, are equally devastating. That the eyes of those faced with this false dichotomy would be opened to the plain and clear truth of His word – The comfort that we seek in whatever this cursed world throws at us will not be found in made-up promises falsely attributed to His lips, but it is found in a simple faith that, no matter what is going on around them, clings to the truth that He is good.

I had such a great weekend! It started on Friday with going to our home school co-op with my family. For the uninitiated a home school co-op is where parents get together (usually once a week) and take turns teaching classes as able. Right now my kids are taking Spanish, science and art for example. This gives some of the moms a needed break and can supplement an area that a mom is weak in. Right now the classes that my kids are taking include Spanish, art, science and drama. I love it when I get to go even though I am usually the only dad present.

Saturday morning I took my 3 year old son out for a MANdate. We started with an awesome breakfast at a local pancake house. We then went out looking for 2 things: a new bicycle helmet for him and a replacement red ball for four square. After three thrift stores and a stop at GI Joes we wound up with: a new helmet, an awesome chest for uhhh putting stuff in (come on the price was good) and this huge plastic space rifle!

When we got home I took my 2 oldest girls and my son to funtasia to play in the ball/tunnel kids adventure thing. They just love that place. I do prefer going there on weekdays though. There are less parents to give me odd looks as play in the balls and crawl around in the tunnels. My buddy and his kids showed up later on and we got to play with them as well.

Upon my arrival at home I was greeted with a surprise birthday party arranged by my fabulous wife! Friends, Mexican food, bon fire and good beer! I also found out about a birthday present that is in the mail!

Today (Sunday) we had a great time in the morning singing, learning and fellowshipping at our church. Afterwards we had our first real meeting for our Greek group which I am increasingly excited about (my elder assures me that the sexiness of learning Greek will where off soon though!) We finally capped the weekend with a family movie night before putting the kids down.

I am so thankful that my Father has given me such a full life of family and friends! It was only a little more then 8 years ago that I was a radically different man leading a completely different life. He has changed everything around for the good. Everything and everyone that I have today has all come by His grace to me through Christ!

According to Jakob Nielsen the vast majority of you are lurkers. That means you read things on the internet, but you virtually never, ever participate. For a blog this would mean you read it, but never comment.

Do you know what the devastating result of this is? Me neither, but what I do know is the joy of seeing peoples names in my traffic log instead of their IPs!

So to all you lurkers (especially you 98.117.145.11!) I provide this special opportunity. This post is dedicated to you making your first comment! See that box down bellow? Yes that one. Put some words into it and then click the button bellow it. Yes that button. Wait wait! Put the words in first and then click on the button.

Yes, “Kittens are cute!” is an acceptable first comment.

Over at Slice of Laodicea, which I usually only visit when a Mars Hill friend sends me a link to a post about Mark Driscoll, there is a post about, well not too surpisingly, Mark Driscoll:

Cathy Mickels is a wonderful sister-in-Christ who is passionate, articulate and well-documented. Because of this, she is one of my favorite guests on Crosstalk. For years, she has researched what has been going on in evangelicalism regarding young people. Now she has been researching and exposing smut-meister Driscoll.

I don’t think that I have ever heard the term “smut-meister” before. Apparently Cathy Mickels has written a memorandum documenting Driscolls’ alleged “crudeness and careless handling of Scripture”. Should be an interesting read . . . You can read the rest of the Slice post here.

Now as someone who loves Driscolls preaching and has grown a lot from it (I went to Mars Hill for about 5 years by the way) most of these criticisms roll right past me.

I do though remember reading a post from the Internet Monk a while back about “a well-known young evangelical preacher” who was going through the Song of Solomon. <wink wink>

There were a few parts that at least gave me pause.

The sermon contains a lot of good information on marriage and sexual intimacy. I don’t agree with all of the perspective of the preacher on this topic, but the information and advice he’s giving is good. I wish my students would listen to the talk because there’s some exceptionally frank discussion of sex and marriage that will save them a lot of difficulty.

But I’m just not convinced that what I’m hearing is the message of the Song of Solomon. I’m not convinced that what I’m hearing from the preacher can be found authoritatively in the text. I don’t believe that study and exegesis is going to bring these points to the forefront.

and

. . . the preacher went right from some of the more sensual language of the book to specific kinds of popular contemporary sexual acts, and then moved well past that to much more on to the larger subject of sex in marriage and many applications there. Whether his advice was true or not, it wasn’t based on the plain, purposeful reading of the text. He was hanging his own talk on the text, not bringing the message out of the text.

Someone else in the comments I believe asked a question along the lines of “Do you think there is a good reason that God chose to handle these topics using imagery? If there is, do you think that it might be a good reason for us to do the same?”

I certainly had to think about it. What do you think?

Update!

For that memo by Cathy Mickels, go here.  Haven’t read it yet myself and might not.

This morning I exited my parking garage and crossed the sky bridge over the street my office is on.  When the elevator opened there was a homeless man inside.  He apologized for pushing the wrong button.  I told him it was me who had pushed the button.

He began to tell me through stuttering and his half dozen teeth that he was short for money to stay in a room.  I work downtown.  I’ve heard this many, many, many times before.  I told him I had no cash.  He said there was an ATM nearby probably.  I said I’m sorry, but I’ll buy you a sandwich.  As I expected he said he didn’t need one… but he’d take a Mountain Due.

We got to the deli half a block away and found my Rock Star and his Doctor Pepper (He said he alternates between the two.)  As we were paying he continued explaining how he was schizophrenic and hears voices, but his medication was working.  He said he didn’t drink or do drugs.  I looked at his eyes.  Clear.  I looked at his face.  No scabs.

We exited the deli. I pointed across the street and said there was an ATM over there.  “Praise God, Praise Jesus. Thank you, thank you!” he said.  I inserted my card.  “I’ll go over here so I don’t see your pin number.”  I gave him the money.  He was exuberant by the amount (It wasn’t that much really.)  I asked if I could pray for him and he said “yes please, please do.  Pray for healing.”

I thanked God for orchestrating the events of his life for his good.  I asked God to heal his body and his mind.  I told God that we would accept whatever degree of physical healing he chose to offer, even if it was none.  I thanked God for the promise of spiritual healing and asked Him to lead this man.  While I was praying the man was saying “Yes God.  Yes Jesus.  Thank you God.”

We talked for a few more minutes.  He shared briefly about the brutality of his child hood and when the voices started.  I told him that my mind was once on the brink of being gone, but that God had renewed it and was renewing it.  He nodded and paraphrased Romans 12:2.

I told him I had to get to work and as we walked a few more steps he asked my name again so he could pray for me tonight.  If he couldn’t remember it, he said, God would still know he meant me.  He said he’d pray that if I am having trouble in relationships that we would remember that God is the head of our relationship and that all things are from Him and to Him.  My eyes widened and I thanked him.

Best forty bucks I ever spent.

I had planned on beginning a study of Colosians, but I have decided not to do it right now.   For someone like me who has a habit of starting things and not finishing them this might seem like part of that pattern, but it is not.

My wife, gracious as she is, told me she thought I was doing too much.   I am a husband and my wife needs my time.   I am a father of four kids and my kids need my time. Two nights a week we are in small groups that need our time to be there and study the bible before them during the week.   I will be beginning Greek this spring which will obviously require more of my time.  I also have a job which well takes more of my time.

All that said, my wife did not think that the timing for an in-depth study was really that good.  I didn’t like that at first, but lo and behold I think she is right.  I would like to think that I could add more to my plate and maybe I could, but the fact of the matter is that I am not stewarding what I already have on my plate nearly as well as I could be.

They all relate to self-discipline and that is a very weak area for me.   It is something I have thought about, prayed about, repented for, talked with other people about for the past few years and honestly have not really grown in at all.

Here are the areas where I know I need more self-discipline:

I may write more later on about my struggle with this, but if you’ve struggled with this and found something that helped you grow in it please do pass it along to me!

P.S.

The Commentary on the Greek text of the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians by John Eadie
was a really, really good read.