January 2004
“Mom, why do we go to church and Patti doesn’t?” He was about four years old. I explained, “Patti is not a Christian. She is not interested in church.”
Now, years later, I realize that some nonchristian people do go to church — and occasionally, a few Christians, who should be there, lose interest, at least for a little while.
The church is often misunderstood and little wonder. The word can refer to several things. For some, it is the white building on the corner of Fifth and Main, a structure that people enter on Sundays and for weddings and funerals. Church is just a building.
For others, church is an activity. We knew a couple who had “church” in their living room every week. They didn’t like “organized” religion but wanted to have something spiritual in their lives, so they did their own version of “church.”
Still others think of church as just that — organized religion. They see innumerable denominations, structure, hierarchy, ceremony, acceptable rituals and behaviors, and a great deal of rules. This understanding is largely what “church” has become in today’s world, but it is not necessarily the church that Christ is building.
In the New Testament, Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” What church was He talking about?
The word “church” comes from a Greek word meaning “called out,” an apt name for a group of people Christ calls out from the world into His kingdom, from sin into holiness, from their old life into a new life. However, this is never a singular word; the church is a group of believers.
In the Bible “church” refers to all people called by Christ to follow Him. Scripture uses terms like the “body” and the “bride” of Christ to describe it. We are part of Him, His hands and His feet in this world. We are also joined to Him; we are His beloved. The “church universal” is everyone who believes in Jesus, no matter what denomination they adhere to, or part of the world they live in.
Scripture also refers to church as a local congregation. Believers first met in one another’s homes. A local group might be the church that “meets in Lydia’s house” or “Simon’s house.” There were no white buildings on the corner or any other special buildings, but the church was never more vibrant and effective, no matter where they assembled to pray, share, learn, and worship.
These two meanings still remain today. When the Bible talks about Jesus’ love for the church, it is talking about the people for whom He died. When the Bible talks about “not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together,” it is talking about a local church. It does not matter if it meets in the Alliance building, the Baptist building, or the Community building. What does matter is that the building is filled with people who have given their lives to Jesus.
Patti still has not considered Christ and still does not go to church. She is not drawn to Christians. They make her feel uncomfortable and guilty. Church to her appears to be an organization with a bunch of rules, and sadly, some “churches” are just that. The congregation does not have a common faith in Christ, only in their organization. What a turn-off. Yet if she ever decided to follow Jesus, He would lead her into an entirely different experience of church, a place yes, but also a group of people who are united by the Holy Spirit and their love of God, not by form and rules.
Since that child’s question years ago, I’ve realized that becoming a Christian changes a person’s view of church. Until Jesus called me out of my unbelief, I never wanted to go there either.
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Friday, October 28, 2016
The new gods .......... Parables 503
February 27, 1996
Whenever the word “idol” is mentioned, different images come to mind. My granddaughter might picture a television or singing star. An older generation might think of rotund little statues or grotesque carved figures mounted on poles. Most of us would never think of a science laboratory.
While reading a book about world views, I came across an interesting definition of “idol.” As background, the author maintains world view is how a person answers four questions: Who am I? (Or who are human beings?) Where am I? (Or what is the nature of our world?) What is wrong? (Or what keeps us from attaining fulfillment?) And finally, what is the remedy? He says whatever we depend on and look to for answers is our response to the last question. In other words, whatever we think will fix wrong in our world becomes our “God” or idol.
On a global scale, answers to those last two questions fall into three major categories. The first says economic chaos is our problem and it can be remedied by money, either by right use or more of it. A second response says we are crippled by archaic methods therefore technology and the right tools will “fix” the world’s mess.
The third answer is that we do not properly understand our world. All we need is careful observation and workable theories that have been tested and proven. Then we will discover what we need to know and use those same scientific methods to resolve our problems.
Science proves itself a mixed blessing. For instance, inventions ease our work load with labor-saving washing machines, power tools and computers, but what happened to the predicted twenty-hour work week? New inventions eat it up with increased production!
Scientific development changed the way we work but also the way we think about God. For instance, faith was once considered a response to God’s revelation. Truth from God was considered ultimate truth and faith accepted it as reasonable and provable. However, certain “experts” found themselves unable to put revelation in a test tube. They demanded reason be divorced from faith. Unfortunately, allowing that separation produces spiritual chaos.
For instance, with science, humans are now “enlightened.” We can split atoms, cure most diseases and launch ourselves into outer space. Scientific theory collects evidence to “prove” man is an evolved ape and the world is a cosmic accident. Some claim whatever is wrong, humanity can fix it. They say we don’t need God and He, even if He existed, is dead.
Observation is a major scientific foundation, yet anyone who has their eyes open can easily see the scientific method falls short. It cannot cure the world’s ills because our human sinfulness interferes. We explore and marvel at the wonders of creation, yet have not found a perfect way to stop ourselves from exploiting and polluting it. More personally, people protect a seal pup’s right to life with the same zeal as their right to destroy their own unborn babies.
Science enables us to gaze in awe at the cosmos and thrust spaceships into it, but cannot guarantee an end to violence and bloodshed. Even in our fiction, people war over ownership of the moon and traffic control on their way to the stars. Science has not stopped hate, fear, poverty or pride. Human beings are still selfish and abusive, hungry and helpless.
Nonetheless, science has merit. Rather than abandon it, we need to put it in its proper place — under the law of God. He commands: “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Obeying would keep us from elevating science above Him. Instead, we corrupt it by our sinfulness and make it yet another ailment that needs yet another remedy!
Whenever the word “idol” is mentioned, different images come to mind. My granddaughter might picture a television or singing star. An older generation might think of rotund little statues or grotesque carved figures mounted on poles. Most of us would never think of a science laboratory.
While reading a book about world views, I came across an interesting definition of “idol.” As background, the author maintains world view is how a person answers four questions: Who am I? (Or who are human beings?) Where am I? (Or what is the nature of our world?) What is wrong? (Or what keeps us from attaining fulfillment?) And finally, what is the remedy? He says whatever we depend on and look to for answers is our response to the last question. In other words, whatever we think will fix wrong in our world becomes our “God” or idol.
On a global scale, answers to those last two questions fall into three major categories. The first says economic chaos is our problem and it can be remedied by money, either by right use or more of it. A second response says we are crippled by archaic methods therefore technology and the right tools will “fix” the world’s mess.
The third answer is that we do not properly understand our world. All we need is careful observation and workable theories that have been tested and proven. Then we will discover what we need to know and use those same scientific methods to resolve our problems.
Science proves itself a mixed blessing. For instance, inventions ease our work load with labor-saving washing machines, power tools and computers, but what happened to the predicted twenty-hour work week? New inventions eat it up with increased production!
Scientific development changed the way we work but also the way we think about God. For instance, faith was once considered a response to God’s revelation. Truth from God was considered ultimate truth and faith accepted it as reasonable and provable. However, certain “experts” found themselves unable to put revelation in a test tube. They demanded reason be divorced from faith. Unfortunately, allowing that separation produces spiritual chaos.
For instance, with science, humans are now “enlightened.” We can split atoms, cure most diseases and launch ourselves into outer space. Scientific theory collects evidence to “prove” man is an evolved ape and the world is a cosmic accident. Some claim whatever is wrong, humanity can fix it. They say we don’t need God and He, even if He existed, is dead.
Observation is a major scientific foundation, yet anyone who has their eyes open can easily see the scientific method falls short. It cannot cure the world’s ills because our human sinfulness interferes. We explore and marvel at the wonders of creation, yet have not found a perfect way to stop ourselves from exploiting and polluting it. More personally, people protect a seal pup’s right to life with the same zeal as their right to destroy their own unborn babies.
Science enables us to gaze in awe at the cosmos and thrust spaceships into it, but cannot guarantee an end to violence and bloodshed. Even in our fiction, people war over ownership of the moon and traffic control on their way to the stars. Science has not stopped hate, fear, poverty or pride. Human beings are still selfish and abusive, hungry and helpless.
Nonetheless, science has merit. Rather than abandon it, we need to put it in its proper place — under the law of God. He commands: “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Obeying would keep us from elevating science above Him. Instead, we corrupt it by our sinfulness and make it yet another ailment that needs yet another remedy!
Friday, May 6, 2016
Hero Worship .................. Parables 428
July 5, 1994
The man with a gun to his head led over a dozen police cars along the Los Angeles freeway system. Live television cameras unfolded this emotion-charged drama right in our living rooms.
For the most part, the crowds along the highway seemed concerned that football star, O. J. Simpson, did not pull the trigger. To them, he was a hero, an exalted champion. Heroes do not kill themselves. They shouted words of support from opposite driving lanes. In the tension of the situation, people forgot he was a suspect who may have already killed two other people.
Within a couple of weeks, O. J. appeared more and more involved in the brutal deaths of his ex-wife and another person. Even so, some regard him as still a hero. He shone so brightly on the playing field, nothing can tarnish him in their eyes. “He must have been framed,” they say. They are loyal, no matter what their hero may have done.
Psychologists say we need heroes. We want someone bigger than we are to look up to, even to be our model, someone to pattern our lives after. For many, prominent athletes like O. J. Simpson fill that need. His die-hard fans indicate some will defend a hero, yet others quickly turn away in disgust at the first sign of mortal flaw.
What would happen if the hero were perfect? Would that guarantee complete and total loyalty? Would all become fans and none ever turn away disgruntled or disillusioned?
It seems logical to suppose a perfect hero would guarantee total commitment. Consider the Carpenter from Nazareth, Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “He was in all points tempted like we are, yet He was without sin.”
Here is a perfect person, according to God, He did no wrong. He was flawless, the ideal hero. But what does that mean?
Consider His power: He went against all challenges and conquered them. Violent weather, demonic forces, sickness, blindness, even death, was no match for this hero. However, sinlessness has nothing to do with power.
Consider His love and gentleness. Jesus never hurt anyone. He forgave the repentant, wept over the indifferent, warned those with hard hearts, and loved everyone to the point that He willingly died on the Cross to pay their penalty for their sins. This is closer to what sinless means, yet His actions of love are more a symptom than a definition.
Consider His virtue. He is described as being “full of grace and truth”, one who “went about doing good”, “the true light,” “the Bread of life,” and “the way, the truth, and the life.” Sinlessness is virtue, goodness in the heart. It is never disobeying God because there is absolutely nothing inside that is evil.
Jesus had a large fan club for a while but eventually everyone turned against Him. Maybe they wanted a hero with an extensive wardrobe, fancy house, several cars, and a swimming pool. Certainly they wanted one who could change their political situation. But most of all, they wanted a hero who would give without making any demands – and Jesus disappointed them.
He talked too much about how they should give up everything to follow Him, even their lives, and become “perfect, even as their heavenly Father is perfect.” Heroes are not supposed to do that.
So His fan club began to criticize Him. The imperfect resented Him. Soon the cheering crowd became a raging mob – and since Jesus would not put a gun to His own head (He had no reason to do so) they killed Him themselves. No one wants a perfect hero. A fallen, tarnished superstar will do.
The man with a gun to his head led over a dozen police cars along the Los Angeles freeway system. Live television cameras unfolded this emotion-charged drama right in our living rooms.
For the most part, the crowds along the highway seemed concerned that football star, O. J. Simpson, did not pull the trigger. To them, he was a hero, an exalted champion. Heroes do not kill themselves. They shouted words of support from opposite driving lanes. In the tension of the situation, people forgot he was a suspect who may have already killed two other people.
Within a couple of weeks, O. J. appeared more and more involved in the brutal deaths of his ex-wife and another person. Even so, some regard him as still a hero. He shone so brightly on the playing field, nothing can tarnish him in their eyes. “He must have been framed,” they say. They are loyal, no matter what their hero may have done.
Psychologists say we need heroes. We want someone bigger than we are to look up to, even to be our model, someone to pattern our lives after. For many, prominent athletes like O. J. Simpson fill that need. His die-hard fans indicate some will defend a hero, yet others quickly turn away in disgust at the first sign of mortal flaw.
What would happen if the hero were perfect? Would that guarantee complete and total loyalty? Would all become fans and none ever turn away disgruntled or disillusioned?
It seems logical to suppose a perfect hero would guarantee total commitment. Consider the Carpenter from Nazareth, Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “He was in all points tempted like we are, yet He was without sin.”
Here is a perfect person, according to God, He did no wrong. He was flawless, the ideal hero. But what does that mean?
Consider His power: He went against all challenges and conquered them. Violent weather, demonic forces, sickness, blindness, even death, was no match for this hero. However, sinlessness has nothing to do with power.
Consider His love and gentleness. Jesus never hurt anyone. He forgave the repentant, wept over the indifferent, warned those with hard hearts, and loved everyone to the point that He willingly died on the Cross to pay their penalty for their sins. This is closer to what sinless means, yet His actions of love are more a symptom than a definition.
Consider His virtue. He is described as being “full of grace and truth”, one who “went about doing good”, “the true light,” “the Bread of life,” and “the way, the truth, and the life.” Sinlessness is virtue, goodness in the heart. It is never disobeying God because there is absolutely nothing inside that is evil.
Jesus had a large fan club for a while but eventually everyone turned against Him. Maybe they wanted a hero with an extensive wardrobe, fancy house, several cars, and a swimming pool. Certainly they wanted one who could change their political situation. But most of all, they wanted a hero who would give without making any demands – and Jesus disappointed them.
He talked too much about how they should give up everything to follow Him, even their lives, and become “perfect, even as their heavenly Father is perfect.” Heroes are not supposed to do that.
So His fan club began to criticize Him. The imperfect resented Him. Soon the cheering crowd became a raging mob – and since Jesus would not put a gun to His own head (He had no reason to do so) they killed Him themselves. No one wants a perfect hero. A fallen, tarnished superstar will do.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Awe that never wears off ........................ Parables 075
“We drove into Seattle in the middle of the night,” a lady related. “We’d never been there before. The traffic was unbelievable, cars going under us and over us and beside us - lights flashing everywhere, signs and confusion. We were so mixed up. But we took out a map - and I just read each street sign as we came to it, following along on the map with my finger. We drove right to where we wanted to be - it was awesome.”
Sometimes I have felt a similar sense of awe with my commuter. The first times that I hit several keys in a peculiar sequence and it did the things computers do - I felt awe... at least until it did it so many times that it was no longer a marvel to me. Now I just take it for granted.
Awe seems to easily wear off. After a time, what once amazed us becomes common-place. My mouth doesn’t drop open when I flip a little plastic switch on the wall and bright light suddenly glows from a glass bulb hanging from the ceiling. Nor do I do bow in awed reverence when a square metal box in my kitchen washes dirty dishes at the push of a button. Maybe I once did, but now I expect them to work. Somehow that initial sense of awe goes away - at least until a bigger and better marvel comes along.
The dictionary describes awe as: “...profound and humbly fearful reverence... submissive and admiring fear...”
The ability to be amazed, to have a sense of awe or marvel at a new or impressive phenomena, is built into us. We display it when we see something new or foreign to our experience. It may be a powerful machine or an authoritative person, or an event that is unexpected and wonderful.
When this ability to feel awe wears off with familiarity, no doubt it is because it was never intended to last - at least when the focus is on people, things or events. Instead, it was given to us as a necessity for worship, that we might focus on God, in awe, marveling at His power and authority.
In fact, Solomon said that the whole duty of man was to stand in awe of God and obey His commands. Surely those who do take time to really look at God will be filled with this awe and “profoundly and humbly” give Him reverence.
The Psalmist says: “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him: for He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast...” and then goes on to describe the power and majesty of the LORD - things that are truly awesome.
Being amazed at God never becomes common-place because we can never know all there is to know about Him. There is simply so much to His character, so much to His power, that we could spend a lifetime and still be learning, still be in awe.
In my life, when I earnestly seek God, what He reveals of Himself to me through His Word and His Son always produces a response of awe. That awe wore off with things like light switches, or computers, even though I know they will do exactly what I ask (how amazing!) and what they do is rather marvelous.
The awe of knowing God is different. He never becomes ordinary or common-place.
Sometimes I have felt a similar sense of awe with my commuter. The first times that I hit several keys in a peculiar sequence and it did the things computers do - I felt awe... at least until it did it so many times that it was no longer a marvel to me. Now I just take it for granted.
Awe seems to easily wear off. After a time, what once amazed us becomes common-place. My mouth doesn’t drop open when I flip a little plastic switch on the wall and bright light suddenly glows from a glass bulb hanging from the ceiling. Nor do I do bow in awed reverence when a square metal box in my kitchen washes dirty dishes at the push of a button. Maybe I once did, but now I expect them to work. Somehow that initial sense of awe goes away - at least until a bigger and better marvel comes along.
The dictionary describes awe as: “...profound and humbly fearful reverence... submissive and admiring fear...”
The ability to be amazed, to have a sense of awe or marvel at a new or impressive phenomena, is built into us. We display it when we see something new or foreign to our experience. It may be a powerful machine or an authoritative person, or an event that is unexpected and wonderful.
When this ability to feel awe wears off with familiarity, no doubt it is because it was never intended to last - at least when the focus is on people, things or events. Instead, it was given to us as a necessity for worship, that we might focus on God, in awe, marveling at His power and authority.
In fact, Solomon said that the whole duty of man was to stand in awe of God and obey His commands. Surely those who do take time to really look at God will be filled with this awe and “profoundly and humbly” give Him reverence.
The Psalmist says: “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him: for He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast...” and then goes on to describe the power and majesty of the LORD - things that are truly awesome.
Being amazed at God never becomes common-place because we can never know all there is to know about Him. There is simply so much to His character, so much to His power, that we could spend a lifetime and still be learning, still be in awe.
In my life, when I earnestly seek God, what He reveals of Himself to me through His Word and His Son always produces a response of awe. That awe wore off with things like light switches, or computers, even though I know they will do exactly what I ask (how amazing!) and what they do is rather marvelous.
The awe of knowing God is different. He never becomes ordinary or common-place.
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