http://poiema.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/web-sites-for-discipleship/

Direct link to the new post: http://poiema.wordpress.com/2009/10/12/web-browsers/

Link to the whole blog: http://poiema.wordpress.com/

"[The problem of cultural Biblical illiteracy within our churches] is partly due to modern life being filled with so many things, you know, but also the attitude that you can get by in this world with only a smattering of knowledge about anything. As Christians, we are to be different than the world around us. In particular, we are to attain a fuller knowledge of the Word of God, whereas the world around us hasn’t got a fuller knowledge of anything."

Read the full interview here.  It is well worth your time:  http://simplemann.net/?p=950

 Click here: http://poiema.wordpress.com/2009/10/05/the-internet/

 These posts will be on my off-site blog, though I'll post a link here whenever I post a new article there.  The introductory article is posted here:  Poiema

Actually, you've probably heard of some of my mentors.  John Ortberg, Philip Yancey, C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer, Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, John Piper, John Eldredge, these are just a few of my mentors.  Some of these guys have mentored each other, and lots of them have other mentors who I plan on learning from too, people like Jonathan Edwards, Francis Schaeffer, and Martin Luther.  

All of these men have learned a great deal about God, and they have graciously recorded what they have learned for us, so that we too may benefit from and grow through their insights.  The greatest commandment, according to Jesus, is this: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind.”  To love God with all of your mind means to be thirsty for the knowledge of Him, and to actively seek it out, and to have the discipline and make the time to absorb it.  This knowledge transforms us, by transforming our minds (Romans 12:2).

I know.  Lots of people today don't like to read.  It seems boring, it takes time, focus, attention, and discipline, and plenty of people aren't willing to exert the effort.   Can I suggest that maybe we've succumbed to mental laziness, and that we're worse off for it?  In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Paul talks about the discipline of an athlete, and how, like an athlete, he disciplines himself in order to best serve the purpose for which God had called him.  Our first and greatest purpose is to love and glorify God with everything we are, including our mind, and this means, among other things, learning to discipline our mind, to pursue the knowledge and wisdom of God, to fill our mind with Him.  

As Paul said, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”  God has shared that wisdom and knowledge with a lot of people, who are ready to share it with you, if you'll take the time to listen to them.

The link is down at the bottom of this post, but before that, here are a couple of things you should know:

• In this message, Driscoll talks the way he'd talk to men.  He doesn't dress it up and make it politically correct or "sensitive." 
• It is a long message - about and hour.  I suggest that you burn it to a CD so you can listen to it during your commute.  If you want me to, I'll burn it to a CD for you - just contact me via email and let me know (musicman@thirstyforjesus.org)
• Women, bug your men to listen to this.  You'll benefit too!
• Yes, this is a message given by another pastor.  This isn't because I think our pastors don't have anything good to say about men and marriage.  We're all following and talking about the same God and the same Bible, and everyone's going to come at it from a slightly different angle.  Later in the fall, we're going to have our own series on Biblical marriage and families, and men and women will be specifically addressed during that series. 

Here's the link (http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/trial/marriage-and-men)

 Note that you can click on "Play Video" and just watch the video, or at the lower left of the video screen, you can see a button that says "Play Audio Only."  Also, below the right half of the video, you'll see a link that says "Downloads."  Clicking on that will give you links that will allow you to download a video or audio file which you may then burn to a DVD or CD.  Again, if you'd like me to do this for you, I would be more than happy to, so please let me know.

To summarize Colossians 2:20 through 3:4, Paul is somewhat incredulous that the people to whom he is writing are living according to ideas that come from human regulations and ideas, which, in turn, are dead to the things of God.  Paul asks "if you died to death, why are you still living according to the stuff of death?"  He then says that since they have been made alive to the things of God, they should live according to those things, and that they should live according to Christ, who is in fact their life.  Living that way may not look wise or meaningful to spectators (who are dead to the things of God), but when Christ appears again, their life will appear fully with Him.

These were military terms, and Paul uses them because he believes there's a battle going on as Satan tirelessly seeks and works to turn people away from God.  Other verses that talk about this: 

• John 10:10
• Ephesians 6:10-20
• 1 Peter 5:8-9

 Easy Christianity - one of the greatest "plausible arguments" (Col. 2:4) being used by our enemy to turn people in the Church away from God

• Sometimes preaches that following God will result in earthly prosperity.
• Some people in the Bible were blessed with wealth and earthly prosperity (Gen. 24:34-35, 41:41-45, Job 1:1-3, 42:10, 2 Sam 5:10, 1 Kings 3:10-14, and others)
• But this is not promised to all of God's people (Matt 8:20, Mark 12:41-43, John 16:33, Mark 13:9-13)

Some of the sins we have decided to overlook:

• Drunkenness
  •  What God says about it (incomplete list) 
    
    • Forbidden:  Ephesians 5:18   
    • A work of the flesh and excludes from God's Kingdom:  Galatians 5:21
    • Debasing:  Isaiah 28:7-8
    • Takes away understanding: Hosea 4:11
    • Leads to
          a.    Poverty. Pr 21:17; 23:21.
          b.    Strife, woe, and sorrow.  Pr 23:29-30.
          c.    Error. Isa 28:7.
          d.    Contempt of God’s works. Isa 5:12.
          e.    Mockery. Ho 7:5.
    •  We should avoid those given to it:  Proverbs 23:20, 1 Corinthians 5:11
• Sexual Impurity (The word that is often translated as "sexual immorality" in many of our modern english translations also included sex outside of a godly marriage, which would in turn have included other sexual sins).
  • What God says about it (incomplete list)
    • The body is not meant for it, but for the Lord  1 Cor 6:13
    • A sin not just against God but against your own body, and we should flee from it 1 Cor 6:18
    • Put it to death Col 3:5
    •  It is the will of God for our sanctification that we should abstain from it  1 Thess 4:3
• Language
  • What God says about it
    • It reveals what is in our hearts  Matt 12:34 
    • It can corrupt or build up  Eph 4:29
    • Foul language, foolish talk, and crude jokes are out of place  Eph 5:4
    • Gossips are grouped with people who are haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil,  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  Romans 1:29-31
    • Gossips should be avoided  Pr. 20:19
    • A man of understanding holds his tongue    Pr. 11:12
• Lust
  • What God says about it
    • Equal to adultery  Matt 5:28
    • Adultery forbidden  Exodus 20:14

Other versions of Easy Christianity teach that while we should seek to be better people who sin less, not everyone is called to be a disciple, that the call to real discipleship is issued only to a select few.

Problems with these teachings:

• Ignores the fact that the age of Grace in which we live in on this side of the cross was inaugurated with a call to repentance.  Matt 3:1-3, 4:17
• Repentance, transformation, and a call to righteousness continues to be a major theme in the New Testament    Mark 6:12, Luke 5:32, 13:3, Acts 2:38, 17:30, 26:20, Romans 2:4, 12:2, Col 3:1-10
  
• While it is true that we can do nothing to earn Grace, and that our works cannot save us (Eph 2:8-9), we are created and saved so that we will go on to do good works (Eph 2:10)
• We are all called to maturity in Christ, and to imitate Him.  Eph 5:1, Col 1:28, Hebrews 5:11-6:2, James 1:22-25

Christianity is NOT easy, and it requires effort on our part, (Matt. 7:13-14, Luke 13:24) and yet that effort is enabled by God's power (Col 1:29, Philippians 2:13).

God's guidance ("rules," "commands," etc.) are not meant to stifle us, but to give us life and freedom  Psalm 119:32

While we can do absolutely nothing to bring about our own salvation, when we have been saved and filled with the Spirit of God, we begin to cooperate with him as we repent of our old ways and live in God's way.  This is not something that earns us anything, but it is a sign that Jesus truly is our Lord.  Luke 6:42

I won't mention any names, but one of these people is a homeless man seeking for something better to happen in his life.  I met him first during the week, while he was here to earn some money by doing some work that needed to be done around St. Timothy.  After that, he started visiting us on Sunday mornings, usually attending Connections - and he's returned several times.  Last Sunday, while my wife was talking to him and asking how he was doing, he shared that he was feeling frustrated, that nothing in his life ever seemed to get better. 

 And last Wednesday, I noticed a visitor at Pit Stop, and so I sat down to talk with him.  He shared that he doesn't consider himself a Christian, that He's not sure that he trusts everything in the Bible, but that he does believe in Jesus, though I didn't press him for more on what he meant by that.  He told me during our conversation that a friend had suggested that he seek out a church, and so he walked about a mile to come check us out.  Again, I didn't ask him why, but it was evident to me that he's searching, that he's in need.  He also said that he's always nervous about telling people in a church that he's not sure he believes in Christianity.  He's afraid that he'll be condemned.  I gave him a ride home, and on the way, he told me that he was glad he came.  I hope he'll be back.

 Having said all that, though, I have two thoughts. The first is that I wonder how we'll respond to people like this as a church body.  Will we treat them like they're unwanted if they live under a bridge, or if they don't believe what we believe?  Will we stereotype them as lazy or heretical, even though they may be seeking to improve their lives, or looking for God?  When they or others like them visit us, will they find this to be a place where Jesus welcomes them with love, and grace, and truth, or will they find that human pride is alive and well?

But the second thought is this: We are no better.  We are the needy.  Our needs may not look as obvious, and our needs may not seem to run as deep, but they're there. 

So how well will you respond to the neediness in the people who are already here?  Will you share burdens, will you suffer with others, will you give whatever you can to meet the needs?  What will you do with your own neediness?  Will you hide it, thinking that maybe you're the only person here that doesn't have it all together?  Will you hide it even from yourself, convincing yourself that you're truly independent, and strong, and above the petty needs of others?

The needy are here.  What will you do?

The more I read through the Bible, the more this call to a radically changed heart and mind, which results in a radically changed lifestyle, rings out.  Here's just a very small sampling:

"But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul." -Deut. 4:29

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?" -Deut. 10:12-13

"And He (Jesus) said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."" -Matthew 22:37

"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." -Jesus, in Matthew 7:14

 “Strive (or in the NIV, "Make every effort") to enter through the narrow door." -Jesus, in Luke 13:24

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." -Romans 12:11

“‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." -Jesus, in Revelation 3:15-16

"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’" -Jesus, in Matthew 7:21-23

I think that some of these words were meant to strike a healthy fear in us.  We ought to be concerned if we look at our lives and see slothful spirituality, if we see that we've turned our Christianity into something easy, something that makes our finances better, or our marriages better, that makes our lives easier, when the pursuit of Christ is often hard.  We should be bothered if we see that we mostly don't love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, if we see that we're lukewarm. 

I'm not ignoring grace here, either.  Zeal for God, and striving for Him, and making effort, and loving God does not save us.  Doing works for God will not save us.  It is only by grace that we are saved - and thank God for His grace!  These things are markers or symptoms of those who have been saved.  2 Corinthians 13:5 says "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!" 

So how are you doing?  What sorts of things are you thinking about most of the time?  What do you spend your time puruing?  Where do you invest your efforts and your energy?  What do you study?  What are you striving for?  Do you meet the test?

And another observation about prayer: people are scared to death of praying out loud, and most of the time, the reason is that they don't feel that they are sufficiently eloquent.  Those same people may have no problem at all talking to a group of people, say, in a small group setting, but the idea of leading that same group of people in a prayer fills them with fear and unease.

So here's my question: Do you believe that the prayers or ministry efforts of pastors or "professional ministry staff" are somehow more legitimate or effective than those of everyone else?  Do you believe that if a person is ordained, God will use them more effectively than He will use most other people?  Also, do you believe that eloquent prayers will get more of a response from God than non-eloquent prayers, or that when you talk to God, you have to use a different kind of speech than you use when you talk to people?

If you do believe any of the above, what has led you to that belief?

Things change when a new leader is placed in charge, and so we we cast our votes either in favor of the changes promised by one leader, or in protest of the changes threatened by the other.  We have our little say in how the world will be, and we feel a sense of satisfaction at living responsibly and exercising our freedom to choose, and we're filled with gratitude as we think about living in a country in which every taxpayer (or even non-taxpayers) can influence how things will be, and so election day becomes a celebration of liberty and freedom, of the power of the people. 

Bigger than the vote that we cast on election day is the vote we cast every day for how the world will be through the choices we make.  Author Don Miller writes in Blue Like Jazz about being present at an anti-Bush protest at a college in Seattle.  He was there to support the cause of the protest, but as he listened to the slogans being shouted and read the signs being brandished, a little voice went off in his head, and it said "The problem is me."  We make choices every single day, and those choices affect how the world is.  They bring about change, either good or bad.  For us who are followers of God, in addition to the power we wield through our actions and words, we have access to the power of prayer, against which the power of a mere president is absolutely nothing, and through which we call down the very Kingdom of Heaven. 

What kind of a country are you voting for?  What kinds of change are you looking for?  In what ways do you demonstrate that you really do have faith in the power of God?  Do you believe that God really does listen to your prayers or work through your faith and obedience to bring about actual change?

 The word "Christian" means "follower of Christ," and in the Jewish context in which Jesus was born and carried out His ministry, when a rabbi like Jesus said to you "Follow me," what he meant was "come learn to be like me."  To be "following" your rabbi meant that you were seeking to become just like him. 

Most Christians today, according to John Ortberg, are "Users" of Christ, and not true Followers of Christ.  We're using Jesus to meet the minimum requirement necessary to gain admittance into Heaven upon death, or we're also using Him in order to gain blessings here and now.  Meanwhile, we look very little like Christ.  Statistically speaking, we are addicted to alcohol, get divorced, have affairs, cheat on the job, and sin at the same rate as non-Christians.  We continue to be rude, angry, selfish, greedy, prideful.... mostly, we're untransformed, and we excuse it by putting bumper stickers that say "I'm not perfect, just forgiven." 

We act like we think that Jesus didn't really intend for us to do all of the things He said to do, and we ignore statements like "If you love Me, you will obey My commands," or "Go into every nation....teaching them to obey everything I have commanded," or "For we were created...to do good works," or numerous other passages that talk about us being transformed at our very core, and that this kind of transformation leads to changes in our actions and thoughts.

 Finally, I talked about how this transformation is something that God does in us (Philippians 2:13), but it's also something in which we participate and exert effort (Luke 13:23-24, 2 Peter 1:3-11).  Through the disciplines of prayer, study, meditation, fasting, solitude, silence, service, etc., we place ourselves in submission before God so that He can do His transforming work in us. 

So..."Christian" = "Follower of Christ" = becoming like Christ in what we think, say, and do.  This is something in which we participate, but that, ultimately, God brings about.

Here are my questions:

Do you really think that Jesus really did intend for us to do all of the things that He said to do?

Do you think that you really can do all of the things that He said to do (as He changes you)?

Do you think that you can become like Christ?

Do you think this is really necessary or all that important?  If not, why not?

 This morning, as I was chewing on this question, I had a brilliant, once in a lifetime idea:  I could ask.  So, I'm asking...

Obviously, you won't be seeing this unless you're one of the people who stop by occasionally, but why, from your perspective, isn't there more interactivity on these blogs? 

What keeps you from posting comments? 

If you don't stop by that often, what keeps you away? 

What do you think keeps other people from being active in the discussions or from reading the blogs?

While we must always put the emphasis on in-person interaction over online interaction, we realize that some communities really enjoy and utilize online interactivity, and some just don't (which is fine), and that could well be the case here, but if that's not the case, and if these blogs could become a more lively part of our community life, we want to be sure we're helping and not hindering that outcome.  If online community just isn't of much interest here, then we want to take the time we're investing in that, and direct it towards something else.  Thanks for your input.

But let's face something else too, and I want to bring this up by asking some questions: Have you ever made any unwise financial decisions? Have you ever willingly subjected yourself to debt in order to have something that you didn't absolutely need? Have you ever been purposefully unkind toward someone else? Have you ever put your own wants above someone else's needs? Have you ever found yourself in a bad position because you couldn't see the future and tried to make the best choice you could, only to find out it wasn't such a good choice?

We're quick to blame institutions or governments or groups of people when things are heading south. It's Al Queda's fault. It's Russia's fault. This is all because of people trashing the environment. We wouldn't be in these straits if the Bush administration had made better choices. If the environmentalists would stop whining about drilling, we wouldn't be so dependent on other countries for oil.

What we all need to face - what YOU and I need to face, if we answered "yes" to any of the above questions, is the fact that the blame for the various fixes we find ourselves in lies squarely on our own shoulders. Institutions, governments, and industries, are all made of people, and people are broken. We have all succumbed at one time or another to greed, selfishness, anger, spite, cheating, manipulating, or various other forms of un-love and pettiness.

Before you start asking what the next president can do to make things better, ask yourself what you can do. What are you doing to improve conditions for the people you intersect? How are you making your little kingdom a better part of the world to live in? Yes, you should vote, and vote wisely, but don't put too much hope on the next president, and don't be too dismayed if the other guy wins. Neither of them will be able to save us from ourselves. There's only one Fix for that.

Around this time of year, I start thinking about Autumn, waiting for it to officially arrive so that I can change my desktop wallpaper to a nice Fall scene, break out the pumpkin-scented candles, and start making fall foods like smothered pork chops with sweet potatoes.  In these here parts, the climate obstinantly resists seasons, except Summer, about which it is overzealous, and it only begrudgingly moves on to Fall, and even then it procrastinates.  Because of that, I have to use other things like decorations, music, scents, and foods to create "fall."

I absolutely love Autumn, at least as it exists in places where the climate is more cooperative and civilized.  Sonia and I took a trip to New England several Octobers ago, and it was incredible.  The trees were brilliant flame colored yellow and orange and red.  The air was crisp and cool and leaves crunched underfoot as we hiked through mushroom and wood scented forests.  I wish for that here, though it will never happen. 

Sometimes I wonder why I get so caught up in things like Autumn.  Am I trying to escape the often boring tedium of everyday life?  Am I being hedonistic?  Am I being shallow?  I've finally realized what's moving and motivating me when I get this way, and at the risk of sounding like I'm trying to justify myself, I'll attempt to explain.

We live in a universe that is not merely functional, not equipped with only that which is necessary to sustain life, and we ourselves are equipped with an awareness of those “superfluous” facets of the universe.  For instance, from a purely biological standpoint, it’s good that I can detect that close proximity to a fire can preserve my life when cold weather would otherwise drop my body temperature to lethal levels, or that getting too close to that same fire would, by contrast, raise my temperature too high and kill me, but why, even when the temperature outside isn’t dangerous, do I feel drawn to sit next to a fire and stare into its flames, listen to the crackle and hiss of the wood, watch sparks floating up from it, and enjoy the aroma of wood smoke? 

God built aesthetic and beauty into the universe, and built into us the ability to appreciate those qualities, and I think that we are meant to do so - if I can use the very tired cliche, to stop and smell the roses.  Yes, there’s hard work to be done, responsibilities to manage, and functionality that must be performed, but we’re not the Tin Man, all function and no heart.

When is the last time you admired the shape of a particular tree, or actually watched and not merely noticed a sunset, or really savored a meal, or listened intently to a piece of music, or the way a loved one’s voice sounds?  Or maybe it takes other sorts of things to light up your aesthetic detectors.  Maybe it’s the elegant way a particular piece of code is written, or the design of a car, or the way a certain athlete moves, but whatever it is for you, that sense is there, and God put it there.  All of His creation reflects who He is, and points us back to the beauty that He contains, if we see it that way.

“All Earth is crammed with Heaven, and every common bush aflame with God, but only they who see take off their shoes.” -Elizabeth Barrett Browning

 I challenge you to read through the Bible and see how many times it talks about us going to Heaven.  It's not very much.  In Matthew, you'll hear Jesus say things about the "Kingdom of Heaven," but you'll notice that what He's talking about - again - is a here and now thing.  It's a new way of living.  It's a Kingdom we enter into now, and it's a Kingdom that will go on for eternity.

The point of Christianity isn't Heaven - it's the reconciliation and restoration of God's creation, so that all that God has made can be brought together under Him, to His glory.  We were created to fully display the image of God within us, not just in some eternal future, but here and now.  Our transformation is a sign that this is indeed happening.  As Romans 8:9 says "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."  In other words, if you belong to Christ, then His Spirit is in you, and if His Spirit is in you, sin doesn't control you.  You've been transformed.  You live differently.  Instead of your typical behavior consisting of things like anger, slander, bad language, lies (Colossians 3:8-9), selfishness, drunkenness, rage, (Galatians 5:19-21), we're described as being loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled (Galatians 5:22-24).

The flip side of that is that if you aren't being transformed then Christ isn't in you - plain and simple.  Just as sinful actions, thoughts, words, attitudes, and motives, are symptoms of sin ruling you, transformation into Christ-likeness is the "symptom" of having Christ in you. 

Lastly, the goal of transformation isn't just freedom from sin.  To make my point, I want to use an illustration.  It's a tired, old illustration, but, for the record, I've never used it before.  In The Matrix, Neo is imprisoned by the Matrix, and he doesn't even know it, and, on his own, he can't do anything about it.  Morpheus comes along and reveals to him the truth, and through that truth, Neo is set free.  He takes the red pill and wakes up in his pod, all of the tubes and wires come flying off, the pod ejects him down the waterslide, the Nebucchadnezzar comes and picks him up and...the movie ends - right? 

 Wrong.  Neo has been set free, but the movie goes on, because that's not the point of the movie.  Neo had a very special purpose, but he couldn't accomplish it as long as he was imprisoned by the Matrix.  His being set free was something that had to happen so that he could go on to something greater. 

This is true for all of us who are Christians.  Amazingly, God calls us to participate in His work of redemption and restoration, and that work is the greatest work we will ever do.  As 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him."  And exactly one chapter later, in 1 Corinthians 3:9, Paul points out that we are "co-laborers with God." 

We have amazing, incredible, eternally impacting work to do, work that brings restoration and healing, and ultimately, that brings glory to God.  But we can't do that work unless God changes us.  Transformation isn't the end goal.  It's just a step leading us toward fulfilling our purpose of glorifying God, which is the greatest thing any creature will ever do. 

 Just before Jesus ascended, He told His disciples that it was actually a good thing that He was going away, because then He would send the Holy Spirit - you can read about it in John 16:5-15.  This is such a HUGE thing, and we don't talk about it much.  This means that if you are "in Christ," then the Holy Spirit is living in you - God Himself is living in you.  Romans 8:11 says that this is the "Spirit of Him who raised Christ from the dead..."  That is the Spirit and the power that is in you, and it is through that power that we can be transformed.  We're not on our own.  2 Corinthians 3:17-18 says "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Other people have spoken about this with more wisdom than I can, and one of those guys is Francis Chan.  Please check out his website: http://www.francischan.org/  Click on "Media," and listen to his messages on the Holy Spirit, especially part 3 (just click on the message, and it should start playing in a separate window, but note that you'll need high speed internet). 

 Tomorrow, I'll close the week by writing about why this transformation is so important.

When we do this, we overlook the fact that we are still called to be holy, not just holy on the day of judgment, but holy in the way we live here and now.  It seems that the closer I get to God, the more I become aware of new ways in which I need to be made holy, and of ways in which the condition of sin seeks to enslave me that I wasn't aware of before.  I am, to quote Paul, "the cheif of sinners." 

But I also, through the years, have seen many ways in which God is delivering me from enslavement to sin, from things that I just couldn't seem to get away from on my own, and I fully expect for this process to continue, because I believe it's what God wants to give to everyone, that He offers freedom not just from condemnation on the day of judgment, but from the control of sin in our lives today.

 Keep checking back here this week.  I'll talk about things like why it's so important for us to be delivered from sin here and now, and not just in eternity, and how that happens.  That being said, here is the outline from my sermon, including all of the verses that I used. 

1. We've got a problem

• Christians don't seem to be any different than the rest of the world, when we are called to be like Christ.
• "The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."   - Brennan Manning
• Non-Christians notice the difference between Christians and Christ.

2. How did we get here?

• We define freedom as permissiveness.
• We don't like laws
• Parts of the Bible seem to say that we're freed from the law
  • John 8:36
  • Romans 6:14
  • Romans 7:6
  • Gal 3:25
• The Pharisees adhered strictly to the law, and Jesus critisized them for the legalism.
• As a result of all of this, when we hear the Bible talking about “Freedom,” and we read about being freed from the law, we take it to mean permissiveness, to mean that we don't have to be that careful how we live, because we are under Grace, and we're forgiven when we sin.  

3. We need to adapt ourselves to the Bible, rather than adapt it to ourselves.  What does the Bible have to say about the law, and about freedom?

• Romans 7:12
• Romans 7:16 and 1 Tim. 1:8 = “The law is good”
• The longest chapter of the Bible (Psalm 119) is about the law.
• Psalm 119:32

How can the law be Good?

• It points us toward holiness, which God requires of us if we are to live in relationship with Him.  “Be holy, because I am holy.”  (Leviticus)

Sin = anti-holiness = rebellion against the holiness of God.

• It affects our action, thoughts, words, motives, attitudes
• We are enslaved by it.
• We rebel against the law, because it points toward holiness
• Romans 6:20-21 – slavery to sin leads to death

So if the law point toward holiness, which is good, but we can't adhere to it, because of sin, which leads to death, what do we do?

• 2 Cor 5:21
• Romans 8:1-4
• 2 Corinthians 3: 17-18
• John 8:31-36

THIS SOUNDS LIKE WE CAN BE SET FREE HERE & NOW
This is not a gospel that has power for the afterlife but no power for here and now.

4. Not about trying harder:

• John 8:36 - The SON sets you free...
• Ezekiel 11:19-20 – God changes our hearts
• Phil 2:12-13 – God works in us

5. How does sin enslave you, personally?

• Anger
• Impatience
• Greed
• Lust
• Pride
• Anxiety
• Complaining
• Language
• Lots of other possible ways

 John Coleman, founder of the Weather Channel, recently addressed the San Diego Chamber of Commerce concerning the topic of global warming. To sum up his speech, global warming, at least insofar as it is being influenced by humans, is a complete and utter farce. He concludes that the global warming frenzy was cooked up by influential environmental activists as a means of giving credibility to their stance against the use of fossil fuels. We should, according to John, ignore the claims about global warming, and "get on with enjoying our lives and loving our planet, Earth."

It seems to me that many American Christians share John's position, at least as I understand it from this transcript. I grew up around people who referred to environmentalists as Tree Huggers and Earth Biscuits, and who ridiculed anyone who even suggested that maybe we shouldn't be chopping down so many trees or burning plastic and Styrofoam. There are a lot of cement factories in my home town, and even twenty years ago, there were a (very) few people saying that these factories were contaminating our air, but nobody I was hanging out with - mostly Christians - took them seriously. Instead, we had lots of jokes at their expense. Lots of conservative Christians will point out that God told us to "rule over and subdue" the Earth, and that we should take full advantage of the resources with which the Earth provides us.

On the other extreme are radical environmentalists who literally do chain themselves to trees in order to prevent them from being chopped down, or who resort to violence against their fellow humans when they believe them to be a threat to the environment. They spend more time defending endangered plants and animals than they spend trying to reduce human suffering, and argue that human life is no more sacred than any other life, plant or animal.

Without going to that extreme, I suggest that Christians need to be more environmentally conscious than we are known to be. It is true that the first commandment God gave us after "be fruitful and multiply" was "subdue the Earth and rule over it," which means that we are to take advantage of the resources with which the Earth provides us. It is true that Humans are the crowning achievement of creation, the only creatures made in God's image, and therefore, in many ways, the highest in the created order.

However, God also gave us a very close relationship with the rest of His creation. Genesis 2:15 says that God placed Adam in the garden of Eden "to work it and keep it." It is highly significant that when Adam rebelled against God, God responded by cursing the ground which Adam was to work. This shocking turn of events, the violent entry of sin into Creation, took place at a foundational level, and, likewise, the only fitting consequences would have to be foundational. Adam would continue to eat of and be sustained by the produce of the land, but now the land would only begrudgingly yield its fruit.

Before sin, Adam's job, Adam's purpose, next to living in relationship with God, was to care for the Earth that God had created. Because of the effects of sin, that job is made more difficult, but it has not been eradicated. When we carry on with our plans without regard to the effects it will have on Creation, we violate one of our fundamental purposes.

So, I agree with John Coleman that it would be very difficult to state conclusively that we are the cause of "global warming," but I also agree with those who say that we need to work hard at reducing the amount of waste gasses and chemicals we're pumping into our air and water.  Of course, this can be taken to legalistic extremes, but I do believe that we, as Christians and individuals, should give careful thought to the impact we have on the Earth by our lifestyles, that we should work toward recycling more, wasting less, using less, and polluting less. When we don't, we're only shooting ourselves in the foot.

This concept of "dying to myself" is a recurring theme for me, and it's something that I'm always coming back to, always seeing ways in which I haven't yet died to myself.  Something has happened recently that has really pushed me further along that path, and it happened through two authors.  Both of these guys are taking a good hard look at the Bible and asking themselves "Do we (Christians) really get what this book is saying to us?  Really get it?"  Their conclusion is that we aren't, and so they've written some books in which they are trying to recapture the message of the Bible.

The first guy is N.T. Wright, who is an absolutely brilliant New Testament scholar.  I recently finished reading his book, Surprised by Hope, in which he takes a look at the Gospel from the perspective of the Jews and the early Christian church, since those are the people through whom and around which the whole Gospel story played out.  Without going into too much detail, what Wright says is that the foundational message of the Gospel is that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and that we are invited to live in that Kingdom now.  Jesus Christ really is Lord over all of creation and over all who follow Him - and over all who don't.  We are also called to go tell others that the Kingdom is here, and that they too are invited. 

The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of justice, beauty, love, grace, and reconciliation.  It's a Kingdom in which we no longer live in sin, and in which death, the result of sin, is undone.  When Jesus returns, He will finally and fully usher in that Kingdom.  The Kingdom of this world will be destroyed forever, and all of Christ's followers, and all of Creation will be redeemed and fully perfected. 

Our hope as Christians is to look forward to that time, when the world of sin has been done away with, and when this creation (including our bodies) will finally be restored and perfected at Christ's return.  Until then, however, we've got work to do.  Amazingly, that work is in cooperating with God in demonstrating that the Kingdom is Here.  Jesus' ministry and bodily resurrection were evidences of the fact that Something Else - a new rule, a new way of things - had crashed into the world of sin and was taking over.  Through the power of the Spirit, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, our lives too can be evidence that a new Kingdom is in fact here. (Romans 8:11)

The other author is Francis Chan, who's just written a book called Crazy Love.  I've only read some reviews of the book, but I've heard him speak in person, and I know what kinds of things he says.  What he's saying in the book, and what he preaches in person, is that a real Christian, a real follower if Christ, is someone who loves other people like crazy.  That means that you love them - not yourself - first.  That means that you give generously to them of your time, your resources, your energy, your heart, and that means sacrifice. 

Chan is a pastor at a church, a church which he planted with dreams of becoming huge, of having cool buildings and thousands of people.  Chan bought himself a big 3,000 square foot house and was living big, but then one day a missionary from New Guinea challenged him and told him that he had the wrong idea, that the goal is to love more, which means to give more.  The Spirit of God spoke to him through that missionary, and so they changed things.  Their church (which was pretty large by now) voted that 50% of their budget would be given away, and in real numbers, they've been giving away more like 55%.  Chan and his family moved into a 1,000 square foot house, then upgraded to a 1,200 sq ft house when 5 other people moved in with them (for a total of 10 people).

So, to bring this back to the idea about dying to myself...  What is finally beginning to sink in a little more deeply for me is the fact that we're not called to live our best life now - not on the world's terms anyway.  Too often, we try to convert the message of Jesus or the Bible into a message about material wealth, convenience, and ease, but that just isn't the way it is.  With very few exceptions, most of the major players in the Bible, Jesus not least, lived very difficult lives and had very little - and they chose that kind of life.  That's because they knew that they were building and living for a different kind of Kingdom, using different kinds of tools.  They were looking forward to the time when God Himself would complete the work in which they were participating, a time when sin, hunger, homelessness, sickness, loneliness, depression, famine, earthquakes, pain, even death, would all be undone and destroyed forever.  They realized that this was the life they could look forward to, but for now, there was difficult, yet joyful work to be done.

For many of them, doing that work meant having less so they could give more, or earning not so they could be comfortable, but so that others would not go needy.  It meant dying to themselves.  For me, my struggle has always been convenience and enjoyment.  I want to do what I want, when I want, and what I want will be what's most enjoyable.  So for me, dying to myself in order to help build the Kingdom, in order to love like crazy, means sacrificing my time in order to give it to others, in order to help people who need help, or in order to be a friend to someone who is lonely.  I'm finally getting it, and I'm finally becoming okay with it.  I'll live my best life later.

Dying isn't easy. In fact, as we know too well, it's painful.  However, the great thing for us is that, after death, there's a resurrection.