Think Different

So now we’ve made a decision to surrender completely to God. What does it mean in my daily life?

Years ago, Apple computer ran an advertising campaign built around the idea that it is okay to “Think Different.”

While the people at Apple and the world in general would be pleased to applaud for the “outside of the box” thinking of someone like Gandhi, what would they say about you if you decide to refuse to be molded by the culture and experience true spirituality according to Jesus?

Take a look at the scripture in the sidebar. 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 reminds us that many of us have made a decision to surrender that puts us at odds with the old way of doing things.

Now we have been ” washed…sanctified.. and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Again, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

How does this relate to Romans 12? Verse two begins by encouraging us to “not be conformed to this world.” We need to “think different” and, more importantly, be different.

Crushing Divisions and Obstacles

Romans 15: 17-20

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

This morning I listened to a podcast teaching about God’s plan for unity among the greater church.  In Paul’s day there were those who focused on doctrines of men and not of God.  What was Paul’s profound suggestion?  Two words.  Avoid them.

How do we recognize them?  “Such persons do not serve our Lord Christ…by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”

In Matthew 10:16 Jesus tells His disciples to be “wise as a serpent and harmless like a dove.”

Here Paul tells us to be “wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.” We are to focus on the goodness of God and His provision through His grace and mercy.  On the other hand we should be absolutely innocent to the evil around us.  At work or home, at church or just hanging out with friends.  Our lives should be marked by a growing closeness to God.  What’s the result of our obedience?  God will soon “crush Satan under your feet.”

Our job is obedience.  God will take care of the rest.

God, Government and You

Tonight I spoke with a physician who has two sons attending two very different schools.  The older son attends a school where any talk of God could cause trouble, while the younger son attends a private school in the Cleveland area where prayer to God is encouraged and expected.

Talk about controversy!  Just mention the government and God in the same sentence and all kinds of emotions are stirred.

After telling us to do our part to live in peace with others in chapter 12 of Romans, Paul now shifts his focus onto public life. The Christians of the first century were not exactly popular in their culture.  So why would Paul encourage the believers to be “subject to the governing authorities”?

The answer is in the sovereignty of God who has placed those in authority.  We are expected to follow the laws of the land.  As verses six and seven tells us, we are to pay our taxes.  We are to respect the laws of the land.  We are to honor those in authority.

He’s not saying we necessarily agree with them in all things.  I personally, don’t want to pay any additional taxes than what I owe.  But I am still to pay my taxes.  Before Paul wrote these words, Jesus answered the question on taxes and said to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God those things that are God’s.”

Now you might ask, do we honor authorities in all things at all times?  I believe the Scripture is clear on this.  Moses’ parents didn’t obey Pharoah’s command which demanded the death of their newborn.  When Peter and John were commanded to stop speaking in the name of Jesus, they answered with the question as to whether it is better to obey man or God.

There are areas where authorities may push us into a corner and ask for compromise in our Faith.  We are to stand firm just as those believers in the first century did.

I think a question to ask might be- Am I focusing on obeying God or am I using my Faith as a reason to oppose authority?

Here’s Some Hope

In a time of desperation for the people of Israel, Jeremiah wrote these words of hope.  Take a minute and read the scripture:

21 But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 The LORD is my portion, says my soul,
therefore I will hope in him.
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.Jeremiah remembers and therefore has hope!  What is the source of his hope?  The steadfast love of the Lord is without end.  His mercies are new every morning. (Lamentations 3: 21-25 ESV)
Jeremiah’s hope is in the Lord.  He hopes in Him. He seeks Him.

We’ve been talking about trials for the last few weeks and it is easy to feel a little worn down during a trial.

On this day read this portion of scripture again. And again.  Believe it deep in your soul.

Doing it Their Way

As he began chapter nine, Paul is still referring to his Jewish brothers in Chapter 10, as a group of people who are zealous about their religion, but they’ve missed the relationship with God because they refused to surrender to God through Christ.

On a winter day we returned home to discover a piece of religious literature inside our storm door.  Who goes door to door in a snowstorm?  The Jehovah’s Witness who stopped by our house can certainly be zealous, but does he know the Truth or is he establishing his own way to God?

Even though I know the truth of who Jesus is and am confident in the words of passages like Romans 10: 1-4

1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

it is all too easy for me to make the same mistake in my daily Christian walk.   Have I made the “rules” of following Christ the priority in my life or am I following and being obedient based on relationship with Christ?

Paul indicates that I should have a zeal for God, but according to real knowledge of the righteousness that comes from God. So from a theological standpoint, the work of Christ on the cross and His physical resurrection is the central point of The Gospel.

Any other works or zeal or gospel is really no truth at all.  I can put our trust in the things I don’t do – the rules we keep – and in the end believe a lie, because I did not submit to God’s righteousness.

27 Years Ago

Today is our anniversary.  Yesterday I came across this opinion piece from ChristianPost.com.  The dates are different.  The sentiments are the same.

A Happy Marriage in a Post-Marital Society

I have 31 years of empirical evidence that I married a saint. My wife has now put up with me ever since we wed on June 28, 1980.

The big day was in Kristiansand, Norway, in her home church. My family from America (Chicagoland) was there to witness, as Kirsti and I said, “Ja, I do” in our bilingual service

It’s been a happy marriage. Thankfully, we spent more time preparing for the marriage than we did for the wedding. We made a commitment before we got married that we would freely discuss the d-word (divorce), but that after we got married, we would never mention it, not even in jest. We have kept that agreement.

Ben Franklin once said, Before you get married, keep both eyes wide open. After you get married, keep them both half-closed.

Little would we realize at the time we got married how rare we would be as a couple, whose marriage has lasted so long in contemporary America. I even met someone at church once who told me that she had been married to her husband on the very same day (June 28, 1980) in Ohio. Only, sad to say, they were divorced after seven years or so.

What’s happened to marriage?

The New York Times called America a “post-marital society.” Tragically, that seems to be accurate.

I say tragically because marriage is good. It’s good for your spiritual health, your mental health, your physical health, your fiscal health, your sexual life. In short, it’s good all around.

In fact, a classic book by Peggy Waite and Maggie Gallagher, The Case for Marriage, documents all these things. They even show that people who are married live longer and happier.

So why has marriage hit such hard times in our society?

“Marriage is a wonderful institution,” said Mae West famously. “But who wants to live in an institution?”

I read a release from National Marriage Week USA that in 1970, 79% of adults were married, but only 57% were married in 2008. Some 40% of children are now born in America out of wedlock. In the black community, 72% of children are born without married parents. Indeed, marriage has fallen on hard times in our day.

I believe that ultimately marriage is a spiritual picture. When tens of millions of viewers all around the world saw William and Kate tie the knot at Westminster Abbey in London several weeks back, they heard some of the Church officials mention the traditional belief that marriage is a picture of Christ and His bride-the Church. That’s why marriage is so special.

Perhaps, that’s why marriage is under attack in America-seemingly from all quarters, such as:

• No-fault divorce laws which make it easy to get divorced, even if only one wants out. Imagine trying to do business with someone, where the other person can simply opt out when he/she feels like it;
• People living together before they get married (if they get married). Surveys have shown that cohabitation generally better prepares a couple for divorce more than for a happy marriage;
• The feminist assault. One of the leaders said (long before she herself got married) that a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle;
• The gay attempt to redefine marriage. Just last week, the Republican-led New York legislature voted in same-sex marriage in that state;
• The Marxist attack to do away with it. Karl Marx says in the Communist Manifesto that he believed in the “Abolition of the family! Even the most radical flare up at this infamous proposal of the Communists.”

Many today think marriage is unnecessary. They think marriage is misery and singleness is bliss. Monogamy sounds like with monotony. It’s boring, supposedly. Who wants to be confined to just one spouse?

Modern Western man may condemn the primitive cultures which practice polygamy. But we have “serial polygamy,” one wife (or girlfriend) after another.

I think one of the biggest myths of all about marriage is that all that matters are feelings. But feelings come and go.

I remember a friend from high school who got married about five years before I did. But the marriage didn’t last. After about a year of marriage, he and his wife got into a fight. He said, “Well, do you love me anymore?” She said, “I don’t know.” He said, “That’s it, I want a divorce.” And they got divorced. They were slaves to their feelings.

I also believe marriage should not become your god. One time I was on the road around Valentine’s Day. I called a florist to request flowers to be sent to my wife, and I asked for this message to accompany the flowers:

Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
I love you the most,
Except for you know who.

The florist didn’t understand this message and was initially reluctant to send it. But Kirsti picked up on it right away. (The Lord has come first in our relationship. That’s why we’re still happily married.)

So happy anniversary, dear. And thanks for putting up with me for all these years.

An Opportunity

Life, impact, and making a difference are the result of people who make personal commitments and keep them. Personal commitments make it possible to stay pure and to resist the power of peer pressure when every fiber of your body wants to do what everyone else seems to be doing. Personal commitment is the difference between marriages that last and marriages that fail. Personal commitment is the difference between ministries that endure and those that end when circumstances become difficult. Personal commitment is the difference between staying and benefiting from a tough course or quitting and flunking out of school. Personal commmitment, over the long haul, makes up what we call character. When character, along with a dislocated hear, a broken spirit and a radical faith, devise the kind of strategic plans that further God’s agenda in the world, Holy Ambition has reached maturity in another life.” Let’s think about your life and mine  Where do we need to make a personal commitment?  Not a good intention.  Not a desire to try a little harder but a personal commitment.

At a Loss for Words

Have you ever received a phone call with devastating news? Have you ever been at a complete loss for words?  Have circumstances left you completely helpless and alone?At those times when we come to the end of ourselves, many of us will fall to our knees before God.  Where else can we turn? And then words fail us. Psalm 34:18 reminds us that ”God is near the brokenhearted.” Romans 8:26-30tells us that at those times God’s Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf.  God understands our groanings.  He understands.  He listens.  He is faithful. What in your life is bearing down on you today?  I have my list and I am sure I am not alone on this one. Take your list and place it before God  ”The Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.”  That’s God promise.  Believe it.

Freedom as Slaves

A friend of mine often uses questions that lead to an answer he already wants to give. For example, “You might ask how tall is the Empire State Building?” He would then respond with the answer. (1,453 feet, 8 9/16th inches)

Again, Paul uses a question already in the minds of his readers to address another point of understanding relating to the Gospel of Christ. Paul has to insist that his theory doesn’t give his listeners license to sin. So when Paul asks, “Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace?”, not only does he respond with a “By no means!”, he expresses what it means to be free from sin not free to sin.

Striving to follow the Law brought death since it was impossible to meet the standard. Now through grace we are free, but we are bought with a price and we and for those of us who believe we are now slaves to God. What does that mean? We now follow a higher standard as we are now “obedient from the heart’.

In Matthew 5:17-48, Jesus revealed the higher standard of grace:

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Read the remainder of the passage to see the higher standard Christ requires for those living in obedience. He lived in a time when people used their Law to excuse their hatred for others, who used the law as an excuse to divorce, and failed to love their enemies. Paul echoes Jesus’ teaching when he gives us no wiggle room regarding our lives. We are either slaves to sin or we are slaves to righteousness.

Read His words. A life that attempts to straddle the fence is a most miserable life. It is more than frustrating. It is impossible. In the end “lawlessness leads to more lawlessness” ending in spiritual death. On the other hand, obedience leads to more obedience, sanctification and eternal life through the grace of God.

At a Loss for Words

Have you ever received a phone call with devastating news? Have you ever been at a complete loss for words?  Have circumstances left you completely helpless and alone? At those times when we come to the end of ourselves, many of us will fall to our knees before God.  Where else can we turn? And then words fail us. I remember a time when I heard the following verse from a pastor and it broke me: Psalm 34:18 reminds us that ”God is near the brokenhearted.” Romans 8:26-30tells us that at those times God’s Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf.  God understands our groanings.  He understands.  He listens.  He is faithful. What in your life is bearing down on you today?  I have my list and I am sure I am not alone on this one. Take your list and place it before God  ”The Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.  And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.”  That’s God promise.  Believe it.