Six Four Three

I’m currently reading Josh Harris’ latest book, Dug Down Deep: What I Believe and Why it Matters, the subtitle aptly describes what the book is about and so far it’s a good read. I won’t be writing a book review here, as I haven’t finished yet, but the first half has me seriously pondering the importance of understanding what exactly it is I believe, and I want to share some of these thoughts.

Theology is important. I won’t even make this a specifically Christian point, if you believe there’s God of any sort, and that God is powerful enough to do you great good or great harm, shouldn’t you do whatever you can to learn about this God and how he operates? It’s staggering to me the amount of people I know who have no idea what God they are following and have no idea what their God says about who He is. If you are a Muslim, get immersed in the Koran. A Mormon? Read all four of their books and take notes. A Universalist? Just keep doing what you’re doing because it’s all about you anyway, and if you are a Christian, get knee deep in the Bible and learn about Jesus.

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I find inspiration from the oddest of places. I’m a firm believer that television commercials are brainwashing mechanisms that only provide me with additional entertainment – (e.g. Jack-In-The-Box commercials are hysterical, but I don’t ever go to Jack-In-The-Box). However, I got suckered in and, yes, inspired by the new Domino’s Pizza commercial. Domino’s, who eats crow on their cardboard crust, has to reevaluate their entire company after some harsh criticism.
I was totally impressed by the way their leadership team handled this. First, they put themselves in the position to be openly criticized. Then, instead of hiding from the harsh truths or making excuses for them, they did everything they could to change. This got me thinking about our Christian community and how we deal with others calling out our individual flaws.

First of all, we obviously have to put ourselves in the position to be openly criticized. If you’re not in deep, Gospel-centered, loving, bold, honest, patient, in-depth relationships with other Christian brothers and sisters, you are putting yourself in harm’s way. It’s so much easier to hide sin and hide our flaws when there is no one around to hide them from. We need to be in friendships where someone can lovingly call out a flaw or sin. Not only that, we should invite that type of criticism from others; we need that type of community and relationships to check our blind spots.

Second, many of us need to un-memorize Matthew 7:4. Most of us react to others’ pointing out our sin by grumbling (or yelling) that they have no right to judge, or that there is a giant plank in their eye, or simply give a long rebuttal of their flaws and sins. No, it’s not easy to hear that we are doing something wrong or to hear that someone has found out we are doing something wrong, but if we understand what the Bible says about community and how the Christian faith is one that must be lived out in community, then we will understand that our critics are lovingly trying to shape us to be more Christ-like.

Finally, as cheesy as it sounds, let us respond with the fervor and determination of Dominos Pizza. There is nothing fun, comfortable, or easy about any of this. It takes a lot of courage, a lot of humility, and above all, a lot of prayer, and a lot of reliance on the fact that God loves you and He is slowly refining you. Let us be a people in community, a community that not only actively fights our sins but also calls others around us to be reinforcements for our battles.

I hope that our current series on Eschatology has prompted some of you towards further study. This is an important and difficult subject that requires a lot of research to even begin to understand all of the passages and their places. Many of you have asked me for more resources so I want to give you a couple of book recommendations and a few websites that will help in your studies. I would encourage you to read through these resources with humility and an open mind and to, above all else, seek Christ in all of it.

Books

The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views edited by Robert Clouse

The Bible and the Future by Anthony Hoekema

A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to "Left Behind" Eschatology edited by Craig Blomberg

Web

- A helpful and common chart that outlines the major positions

- An outline breakdown of Amillennialism

- A Q & A of the pros and cons of each position from an Amillennial perspective

- This is a great video of a conversation between four theologians that agree on a lot of stuff but disagree on Eschatology.

This week our church will be reading from Psalm 123 as part of our Sunday gathering. This is a Psalm of lament, a plead to God from his people asking for mercy. The psalm asks for a tangible mercy that frees God's people from contempt. It is pertinent to our church this week as we conclude our 4 week series on the end times. As a community, when we pray this together we are declaring our patience and trust in God as we lift our eyes and wait for the second coming of Jesus. At that time his mercy will surely be upon us, and we will feel no more scorn. Take a look at our reading for this Sunday:

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Phillippians 3:12 - Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus made me his own.

As I was meditating on this verse today I started to think about the nature of ownership.

When something is mine that means I am responsible for it–completely. If it breaks, I fix it. If it is lost, I look for it until I find it. If it requires maintenance, I keep it running smoothly. I also have the right to use it how I want and when I want.

When you purchase something, you never ask that item permission to be purchased. You just buy it, and it’s yours. You make it your own. Amazingly, Paul uses the example of ownership to demonstrate our relationship with Jesus. Basically, Paul says that Jesus owns us.

I think most of us fail to understand how thoroughly Jesus owns us. I think we have a notion that he owns our possessions, money, time and relationships. What we also need to realize is that He also owns our salvation and our sanctification.

Personally, I struggle with the fact that Jesus owns my sanctification. This is where I want to bring something to the table. I want to offer God my surrender. I want to self-righteously give Jesus permission to own me–as if I am doing him some favor.

The reality is that Jesus does not hold back until you make a step toward Him. Your salvation is not a mutually negotiated business deal. He simply saw you, loved you, and purchased you. You are His possession, and He will do with you whatever He likes, whether you give him permission or not.

But rest assured, Jesus will never use you carelessly or without love. He cares for you and knows exactly what you need and when you need it. You may not always understand His reasons, but you can always trust His purposes.

As I was meditating on this, I was filled with awe that our great and glorious God saw fit to make me his own. This is my hope and this is all I could ever need.

Last weekend, while driving from Prescott back into town on the I-17, I saw a large, three-story building at the north tip of Phoenix. It was prominent, and accented with orange and black.
"Self-Storage" the sign said.
"Climate-Controlled".
I looked at the orange doors through the glass corners of the building and tried to imagine what was in there. The monstrous building was like a castle, with locks and security guards and stone walls, and it was probably home to old lamps and dusty office chairs. I couldn't help but laugh to myself as I drove by. Of all the things locked away in the facility, they all shared two interesting characteristics. They're owners all paid for them to be there, and they were all presently useless.

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As another Christmas celebration is fading away, it is time to gather up the memories and make an assessment of what has transpired this season.

I am going to say unabashedly that this was the best Christmas I have ever experienced. Normally this season sends me into a state of semi-depression. The reasons for such a reaction are unknown to me, but have been occurring every year for the last fifty. Home movies show me sitting alone with a sad expression on my face while my six siblings danced about and enjoyed the festivities as normal children do.

It is mere conjecture at this point, perhaps an unfortunate experience with an ill trained mall Santa had sent me off the tracks. Maybe I was suffering from large family syndrome and as the middle of seven I abdicated and simply did not want to compete. Blaming my parents would be handy, maybe they told me Santa had deemed me more naughty than nice. It could have been my great intellect (my second grade teacher told my parents I was a genius) telling me that Christmas was crass consumerism and I wanted no part of such a display. Being painfully shy and having any attention come my way would explain my reticence to engage as well.

My breakthrough moment was seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child.

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It's been a wonderful Christmas season for our family. It's the first that our 3-year old really gets that something special is going on. In addition, we have another 3-year old that is being fostered in our home. The combination has been a real joy for both Susan and I to behold. One of the highlights was the Christmas Eve service at Praxis. I apologize in advance for being a doting and perhaps even Joe Simpson-esque dad but if you haven't seen it you should. Here is the link.

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Have you ever engaged in that awkward game of “left or right” when walking toward somebody on the sidewalk? That happened to me the other day while I was trying to park my car to do some Christmas shopping.

I was in front of the Petsmart at Tempe Marketplace and an older woman was crossing the street. I saw her and stopped so she could go in front of me. She looked at me and took a few steps that indicated she was going to walk behind me. I started moving forward and immediately she changed direction to walk in front of my car. My window was down and instead of a smile and a laugh at the miscommunication, she growled, “you’re ridiculous.”

A few minutes later I passed a man seething obscenities and threats at the car in front of him. The offense? The car was not turning quickly enough for the man.

Throughout the day, I began to take notice of the general demeanor of the typical holiday shopper. Nobody was smiling. Nobody was joyful and everyone was seemingly pressed for time.

I began to ponder this question: What would it really mean for a follower of Jesus to be salt and light during this season? Particularly, this season in middle to upper class consumer America?

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Christmas music has turned into a contentious topic. It divides us into all kinds of debating camps. There are those who unabashedly (or guiltily) listen before Thanksgiving, and those (like me) who don't like to sin. There are those who find it annoying, and those (like me) who don't like making baby Jesus cry.

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