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Pride and selfishness are the deadly duo of spiritual heart disease. They are the greatest stumbling block to an intimate relationship with God. But God gives us the tools to defeat them.

• Read 2 Corinthians 12:1-10 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

Don’t love the world or anything that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you cannot love the Father. Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father. (1 John 2:15-16 CEV)

Just as “the world” opposes the kingdom of God, so pride and selfishness oppose God. As followers of Christ we should centre our lives upon God and His will. Any time that our lives become self-centred we inevitably push God to the margins. These verses from 1 John 2 provide a very clear reminder of this truth.

Pride is so sneaky it has a built in mechanism to prevent us detecting its presence in our own lives. The reduced presence or absence of humility in our lives prevents us from admitting our flaws. For this reason we need honest, trusted relationships in our lives to keep us accountable, God-focused, and humble. Sometimes we also mislabel it: confidence, self-assured, skilled, successful. These labels may be good and appropriate at times, but when they mask pride they become our enemy.

So here are 7 signs of pride that might prompt us to make important changes in our lives.

1. We find ourselves taking credit for things beyond our control. James has this attitude in mind when he warns about making plans for the future in 4:13-17. We should live our lives looking forward and backward with the attitude that we only accomplish anything because it is “the Lord’s will”. A farmer who takes credit for the perfect amount of sun and rain to produce a bumper crop would be another example.
2. We find ourselves not noticing the needs of others. When “me, myself and I” become our most used words, there’s a chance pride’s nibbling at our soul. Solomon provides a good example of this danger. Read his words here in Ecclesiastes 2:4-10. In just 7 verses the words “I, me and my” occur 19 times. However Solomon seemed oblivious to the burdens his accomplishments placed upon his citizens. When Solomon died the leaders of Israel immediately approached his successor and asked for their burden to be lessened. His refusal to listen resulted in ten of the twelve tribes seceding from his kingdom. (1 Kings 12:1-24)
3. We begin thinking that we’re irreplaceable. When Jesus came to earth the Jews seem to have developed an attitude of divine superiority. They were God’s people. Everyone else was a Gentile. They were blessed by God by virtue of their birthright. According to Luke 3:7-9 a major element of John’s ministry involved calling on the Jews to actually live as God’s people, not just claim the title. He also warned them that God had an axe that could cut them off and replace them. The ministry of Jesus demonstrates that God did indeed expand his definition of His people to include Gentiles. If Israel could be replaced after thousands of years we’re certainly not irreplaceable.
4. We complete a task and immediately wonder what others will think of us. It’s for this reason that in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warns his followers to practice their spiritual disciplines privately. (Matthew 6:1-18) When our motivation, or part of our motivation, to give, pray or fast is to be seen by others, Jesus reflects, “Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.” We might receive the praise of our peers, but that’s all the praise we’ll get. Eugene Peterson provides an excellent translation in The Message,”Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.“
5. When asked to list 5 weaknesses we struggle to identify 3. Have you ever been asked in a job interview what your weaknesses are? I hate that question. I’m trying to get a job, not talk myself out of it. So of course I come up with an answer that’s socially acceptable and not too serious. But in moments of quiet reflection can you list areas of life that require growth, or are you drawing a blank? 2 Peter 1:5-9 calls us to a life of adding various virtues to our faith. Verse 9 provides this summary, “But if you don’t grow, you are like someone who is nearsighted or blind, and you have forgotten that your past sins are forgiven.” (CEV) Remembering where we’ve come from and where we still need to grow will keep us humble.
6. When you’ve mastered the art of humility. Numbers 12:3 makes a very curious statement, “Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” Do you know who wrote the book of Numbers? Moses! It doesn’t give a lot of credibility to the statement does it? I’m really hoping this commentary was added by a later editor.
7. We stop praying. The very act of prayer acknowledges that we are not the Supreme being in our universe. A prayer of thanks acknowledges that God gives us blessings. A prayer of petition recognises our dependence upon God for our physical and emotional needs. A prayer of praise demonstrates humility by placing God in His rightful position above us. A prayer of confession admits our imperfections and reliance upon God’s grace for forgiveness and eternal life. A life without prayer reveals the belief that we can get through each day relying on our own strength.

I hope you don’t identify yourself in this list, but if you do I’ll post some spiritual remedies later this week as Part 2 of this discussion.

In the meantime, please feel free to leave a comment. Do you have an additional Pride Indicator? Perhaps a better example from Scripture than those I’ve provided?

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Healthy Homes play a vital role in producing spiritually healthy hearts. We could define Healthy Homes in many different ways. For this Mothers Day sermon I chose to encourage spiritual conversation within the home. Do your conversations bring God’s presence into the consciousness of others?

• Read Proverbs 30:24-33 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

Some lessons require us to sit down in order to listen, focus, concentrate, write, or remember. In my previous post I made the point that thoughtful people can do a lot of teaching on the run. Jesus’ parables provide a great example of using everyday events and situations to teach profound points.

After I wrote the last post I also came across this observation in a commentary. In John 7:37-38 Jesus says “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” That’s a remarkable statement, but the context is also important. The opening of v37 sets the time as the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

On the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles the priests conducted an elaborate ceremony that involved the pouring of water and wine as a sacrifice to God. It acknowledged his provision of water when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. According to D.A. Carson (PNTC, 322) this ceremony also anticipated “the Lord’s pouring out of the Spirit in the last days.” Jesus used the events going on around him as an opportunity to proclaim a truth about himself and the kingdom of God.

But how do we learn about the Feast of Tabernacles? We learn by sitting down and reading a book or a blog. Perhaps we learn about the feast in a Bible Class. It’s extremely unlikely we will learn the details of the Feast of Tabernacles in a casual conversation traveling from one place to another.

I suspect that when we think of formal spiritual education most of us think first of our church’s Bible classes. That’s not a bad thing. Churches should have the goal of providing top notch Bible education, both accumulating knowledge and putting it into practice. When Christians fail to take advantage of the educational opportunities churches provide they seldom substitute those opportunities with something more spiritually beneficial. (I also accept that not all church offerings reflect the same quality.)

However, first and foremost families/parents bear the responsibility for the spiritual education in the home. In Ephesians 6:4 fathers are given the specific responsibility to “bring [your children] up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” It doesn’t say “Fathers drive your children to church” it tells fathers to train and teach their children. And just because the passage doesn’t specifically mention mothers doesn’t mean that they have zero responsibility in this area.

So how do you study and teach the Bible within your home? Throughout my childhood Dad would make sure we sat down to read a few Bible verses and pray together most mornings before we ran out the door to catch the school bus. With our 3 year old daughter we now make sure he children’s Bibles are part of the books read at bedtime. We also deliberately make sure that most of the songs we sing with her are Christians songs.

Maybe in your family it’s a time of prayer after a meal together or a discussion of the sermon over Sunday lunch. Whatever works best for you, I encourage you to take seriously the task of having formal spiritual instruction as part of your families routine.

I’m not saying that parents have a responsibility take 50 weeks holding long boring discussions of the book of Jeremiah while memorizing 26 separate passages per year. I like this suggestion from Mark Driscoll,

To be a good teacher, dad should use his imagination, particularly when his children are small. A wise dad makes up fun bible questions for kids to answer and buys props and secondhand clothes so that his children can dress up in costumes and act out the Bible stories with full drama while he serves as the narrator.

A wise dad may realize that a personal quiet time for himself is unwise; rather than hiding away in a quiet place to read the Bible, it is often best to do so in the noisy living room where the kids can see and climb on their dad while he reads his Bible. (Pastor Dad, 27-28)

Driscoll may put a little too much pressure on all parents to teach super-creatively, but he provides a great goal. It’s well worth looking around for resources to help guide family discussions. Christian bookstores have all sorts of devotionals for couples, for teens, etc that may help guide these times of family spiritual sit downs.  Here’s a list of some websites you might also find helpful:

• A few BOOKS recommended to me as helpful: CLICK HERE.
• WEBSITES: Crosswalk.com has a page for parents with articles that might prompt conversation.
• FocusOnTheFamily.com has some resources for what they call “Mealtime Devotionals”.
• Here’s a longer list at ThrivingFamily.com.
• FamilyDevotions.org has a new post every day. They don’t seem very creative, but may provide a starting point for you to mold for your families needs.

That’s just a short list. I would really love for you to leave a comment and suggest websites or books that you have found helpful for your family. It seems these resources are pretty sparse.

“Great, but are you a Christian?”

Healthy Homes play a vital role in producing spiritually healthy hearts. We could define Healthy Homes in many different ways. For this Mothers Day sermon I chose to encourage spiritual conversation within the home. Do your conversations bring God’s presence into the consciousness of others?

• Read Proverbs 30:24-33 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

I’m going to break this week’s discussion into two posts. Today I ‘ll talk about unstructured conversations, and tomorrow I’ll delve into formal Biblical instruction in the home.

I am a big proponent of “spiritual conversations”. My church upbringing occurred in a very logical environment. Emotions and feelings were typically criticised as “pentecostal” and had little/no place in discussion of Scripture. I never heard questions like, “How is your relationship with God?” or statements like “This morning’s worship service was inspirational.” Too much risk that one might be crossing over to the dark [hand-raising] side.

Then one day my world was turned upside down by a simple question. I was probably about 13 and on a family holiday to visit my parents old friends. Mr Hogden was an unusual bloke. He ran his own sawmill for years until the suburbs surrounded it and then he retired. He’d not seen me since I was a toddler. That didn’t prevent him catching me alone at one point in our visit and asking, “Are you a Christian?” Of course, I gave him the textbook answer, “Yes, I was baptised a couple of years ago.” To which he responded with the question, “Great, but are you a Christian?”

WOW!! My mind was blown.

Mr Hogden could have warmed up to this 13 year old by asking about my favorite subject at school. He could have tried to find common ground by discussing sports. He could have shown interest in me as a person by asking about my home town and personal interests. Instead, he challenged the commitment I’d made to follow Jesus. My head exploded. I’ve never been able to get that question out of my head.

I wonder how many opportunities I’ve missed since then to bring God’s presence into people’s lives because I choose to talk about the weather, sports or even church life.

In a passage of the Hebrew Scriptures known to the Jews as the Shema (Hebrew for “hear”) God has just gone through the formal process of giving the Israelite nation his laws: The Ten Commandments, and [what Jesus called] The Greatest Command. He next instructs the Israelites how to make this covenant part of their DNA,

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

How can we pass on our faith to our children? Talk about it. Talk about what God means to you. Talk about what God wants for them. Discuss God’s presence in the world. Describe God’s likes and dislikes. Inspire them to make representing God one of their life priorities. Talk about Jesus when you sit at home. Talk about the Holy Spirit as you walk along the road. Talk about God at bedtime and over breakfast. Make God a natural part of their world.

The book of Proverbs provides a great demonstration of spiritual conversation. Sure, it contains sections of formal instruction. Proverbs also refers frequently to natural phenomena to reinforce godly wisdom. In chapter 30 a guy named Agur points to small animals that demonstrate wisdom (v24-28). He makes the point not to let size, or strength or the perceptions of others limit your accomplishments. He’s able to teach as he walks along the road because he observes his environment and seeks lessons that will benefit others.

A wind-blown “leaning tree” in Geraldton, Western Australia

I’ll close with a simple example of my own. I love the wind. I grew up on the coast and there’s always a breeze. I almost went crazy when I first moved from Australia to Memphis waiting for the wind to blow. So many days it’s just completely still. Interestingly, in the Greek and Hebrew languages the word for wind is the same as that for breath which is the same as that for spirit and Spirit. So often as I feel the wind blowing I like to think of the Spirit of God surrounding me, rustling my hair, pulling at my clothes. I breathe that Spirit into me and so God’s presence surrounds me and indwells me. I know tornadoes and hurricanes take the fuzzy edge off this imagery, but really they just open up another conversation: A Spiritual Conversation.

I also try to demonstrate a similar process starting with sports news and events over on this blog: www.GodMeetsBall.com.

I know these are broad questions, but that just gives you more scope to leave a comment. I value your contributions to this conversation.

• Have you ever been on the receiving end of spiritual “teachable moment”?
• What in nature, or in your daily walk inspires you to think on things of God?
• How do you pass on your faith to your children?

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Today’s post is the fourth in a series of guest posts centered around my church’s annual theme of “Healthy Hearts”. This month’s contributor is Kevin Griffith. His full bio is at the bottom of the post, but here’s a brief intro…

I crossed paths with Kevin at Harding School of Theology. I don’t think we had any classes together, but we both lived on campus and spoke to each other occasionally. Unlike most students living in campus housing Kevin and Michele had kids!! It kinda made them stand out. Kevin was also different because he came to grad school with plenty of ministry experience under his belt, it wasn’t just all theory.

I have great respect for the work that chaplains do. I would not do well at it.They approach people at some of the most difficult times of their lives and seek to speak God’s comfort and peace into those lives. In most cases there’s a constant turnover and few opportunities to see long-term fruit from the emotional energy they invest. I am grateful to Kevin and others who serve in this role of truly shining God’s light into darkness and making the world a better place.

— Proverbs 4:23

Working as a Staff Chaplain in the 2^nd busiest trauma center in the nation has its unique challenges, but I love my job. Each night I pass through the halls of the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center connecting with families, patients and staff. Boring nights are few and far between, and welcomed by me and the staff. Each time I pass through the Trauma ICU I am reminded just how precious and how fragile life is – and how suddenly it can all change.

Working here has made me appreciate the simple things in life and it has made me realize just how blessed I am. However, working here does have its price as well. Like any other job it can become just another hum drum day at the office. Because death is a constant companion (I’ve stood at the bedside of almost 700 deaths in the past six plus years) I can become easily desensitized or even jaded. Although I may not be personally involved, I have to constantly guard my heart and not allow myself to forget I am dealing with family members who have just lost a loved one. I must strive to be an emotional support and a spiritual ambassador – sometimes the only representative of God in the room. I must guard my heart.

The same can be said of a patient that is, in my estimation, in fairly good shape considering some of the more serious cases I have dealt with in the past. It’s easy for me to forget that those that are not as seriously ill as others are also human beings in need of a consoling touch, a listening ear and a sympathetic heart. In chaplain circles we call it being “fully present.” Being “fully present”, in my estimation, is exactly what we find Jesus doing in the Scriptures as he interacts with all those who come into his realm of influence. He not only listens to them with his ears, he listens to them with his eyes and his heart as well. And yet he chastises the smug, the arrogant and the self-righteous that come within earshot. I must guard my heart.

Not only can the job become hum drum and death all-too-familiar, but also the anxiety of others can take its toll on my attitude. Working in a trauma center will test you, sometimes more than wanted.  Scripture tells us: “An anxious heart weighs a man down.” (Proverbs 12:25) Those that administer care to the seriously ill sometimes suffer from a condition known as “Compassion Fatigue.” So, I must constantly be on guard and remind myself that I choose how I react to the stress and anxiety of others. I can choose to be caught up in all the craziness that surrounds me, or I can choose to be a calming presence. I can choose to take things that are said in the “heat of the moment” as personal attacks, or I can choose to understand that people and staff members in “crisis” often say and do things without thinking. If I am not careful I will find myself responding in kind to these perceived attacks and undermine all that I am attempting to accomplish as God’s representative. I must guard my heart.

All too often I am more like the proverbial “frog in the kettle” — as the temperature rises and I happily sit and boil, smug in my own self-confidence that all is okay and I am in control. And this brings me to another point — the deceitfulness of the heart. We find in Jeremiah 17:9 a very interesting verse which makes this point — “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Indeed, who can understand their own heart, then alone the hearts (i.e., motives) of others?

So just how do I guard my heart against this?

First, Luke tells us that the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart that out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. So what is it that you put into your heart? If I am to guard my heart I believe I must take specific steps to fill it with good rather than evil. The beginning place for me is in the Scriptures. The Bible is my source of all things good and I endeavor to spend time in it daily. Will this make me perfect? By no means! But I believe it will get me closer to the goal of having a pure heart – a heart that endeavors to please God with my words and actions. I choose to treasure God’s Word – for in doing so I find my heart there.

Second, I believe it important for me to live a prayerful life. By “prayerful” I do not necessarily mean sitting down and spending an hour or two on my knees – I wish I had the time and the discipline to make that happen. However, what I do mean is to be in conversation with God every minute I am possibly able. As I walk through the Trauma Intensive Care Unit, I see many of my patients who are unconscious, on ventilators or even in a coma. I do not make a spectacle of myself, but I do pray for them, even if it is just a short breath prayer of healing and peace. I believe prayer changes things – if nothing else, it guards and changes my heart, and draws me ever closer to God.

Third, I must remember that out of the abundance of my heart my mouth speaks. That is to say the words I speak, and the thoughts I choose to share, are brought forth from the well-spring of my heart. If I am having difficulty with saying inappropriate things or even if I am the saying the right thing in the wrong way, then I know I need to stop and examine just exactly what I have been putting into my heart.

Bio: Kevin Griffith is a Staff Chaplain at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, TN. He obtained his BA in Bible from Lubbock Christian College (now University) and served churches of Christ for almost 15 years in Texas and California in the capacity of Youth and Family Minister. In 2001 Kevin moved his family to Memphis so he could complete his Masters of Divinity degree. Having completed this degree in 2005, Kevin enrolled in Clinical Pastoral Education for a year in order to train for a career in Chaplaincy. In September 2007 he began working at the Elvis Presley Memorial Trauma Center, a part of the Regional Medical Center, and serves there to this day. He has been married to Michele Roder Griffith, a graduate of Harding University, for 22 plus years. They have four children: Shelby (18) a freshman at Harding University; Peyton (14); Abby (11); and Levi (9). Kevin and his wife home school their children.

If this article has encouraged you, please return the favour by leaving a comment to let Kevin know. Or perhaps you have questions or comments. I know Kevin will check in and respond. So don’t be shy!

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Is it possible that the insults Jesus received caused him emotional pain? Was Jesus immune to that? Did the Divine insight he often seemed to have allow him to perceive people’s motives and never take offense?

• Read Mark 3:20-35 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

I received some pretty direct criticism for this sermon not connecting with people. Naturally, that frustrates me. I have no interest in working for hours to talk for 30 minutes for people to think they wasted their time listening to me. I’m not about to tell anybody the sermon was better than they think. The sermon is only as good as they think. If it’s the preachers goal to connect God’s Word with the congregation and they don’t feel connected, then the preacher needs to do something different.

One reason I think the disconnect occurred arose from the application I made from Mark 3:20-25. I attempted to call upon my inner Max Lucado, and it clearly didn’t work. But I’ve heard it said that Max is a better writer than speaker, so maybe my inner Max also works better on paper… or computer screen.

In Mark 3 Jesus’ ministry gear up a notch when he appoints the Twelve in v13-19. He immediately begins to teach them. He gets so caught up in his teaching and the crowds are so big that v20 tells us that “he and his disciples were unable to eat.”

Somehow, Jesus’ mother, Mary, hears that he’s not taking care of himself. She takes her other children and goes to Jesus. This seems like a very natural and motherly thing to do. We probably imagine her wrapping up some bread, fish and carrot sticks planning to make sure he eats every bite before he goes back to teaching. But surprisingly we find a very different motivation in v21. The CEV state it this way, “When Jesus’ family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.“

God blessed me with a supportive home environment. We didn’t have a lot of money. There were many things we couldn’t do. But my parents always encouraged me to pursue my dreams. During high school one year I decided I wanted to try ventriloquism. I had very little stage experience. I had never worked with puppets. But Mum looked around in various obscure places and found several books for me to study and work on. I didn’t have a teacher and it was more a whim than a dream, so my ventriloquism venture was short lived. But my Mum’s willingness to support my strange ideas meant a lot.

I took familial support during my upbringing for granted. In fact, I still do. I imagine that Jesus also expected his family, those closest to him to support his new ministry: Even if they didn’t understand it.

Instead Jesus’ family thought he was crazy, nuts, bananas. He’d lost his mind. They were so convinced of his insanity they were willing to take him by force. Jesus, who’d never sinned. Jesus, whom his mother had always trusted. Jesus, who left heaven. Jesus, who took on the form of a human. Jesus, carrying out the will of his Father. Jesus, accused of having lost his mind by those closest to him. Surely, if he has any shred of humanity this leaves Jesus hurt and confused.

At this point in the sermon some people may have experienced discomfort. After all, wouldn’t Jesus just take this in his stride? Didn’t Jesus know to expect opposition? Wouldn’t Jesus understand that their intent was to look out for him, to care for him? Surely he knew their motivations were good? Wasn’t Jesus tougher than that? Do you really think his emotions went up and down like ours?

The Bible doesn’t tell us a great deal about Jesus’ emotional stability. I guess it’s fair to assume that he was usually a pretty stable guy. We know he wept in the face of death (John 11:35). We know he became hot under when God was insulted (John 2:13-17). We know that throughout his ministry he was “moved with compassion” (Mark 6:34; 8:2). But it doesn’t tell us whether he was ever lonely. It doesn’t tell us if the insults he received made him cry, or made him angry, or whether he just felt pity for the people speaking them.

We need to be careful not to turn Jesus into a Stoic devoid of human emotions. The Westminster Confession of Faith (2.1) describes God as

“…infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, most holy, most free, most absolute…”

I don’t accept this description of God, but that’s a discussion for another time. I do think it’s difficult for us to draw the line between the divinity and humanity of Jesus. In this particular instance I’m very comfortable picturing Jesus emotionally wounded by the statements and attitudes of his family. Their belief in his insanity undermines his ministry almost as much as the Pharisees in the very next verse who argue that he’s demon possessed. I don’t think this makes Jesus a wimp, or even a SNAG. It seems to me that you’d need a remarkably cold heart to be unmoved by your mother and siblings seriously calling you crazy. I don’t believe Jesus ever had a cold heart.

I also believe that Jesus would have discussed and clarified these accusations with his family pretty quickly so as not to allow anger and resentment to fester. Consider his advice in Matthew 5:23-24 to settle disputes before worshiping God. Also in Matthew 18:15 he teaches that if someone sins against you it needs to be sorted out between the two of you directly. Only after direct communication has failed do you involve other people. It’s reasonable to believe Jesus followed his own directions.

Now, I think I lost my inner Max a few paragraphs back, but here’s my observation. There is a way back from hurt and insult. As devastating as it might be to have your siblings and mother lose trust in your dreams and abilities Jesus didn’t turn it into a family feud. Even while hanging on the cross Jesus made sure Mary wouldn’t be left alone (John 19:26-27). He certainly wasn’t vindictive. We also learn in Galatians 1:19 that Jesus’ brother James became a leader in the church after his death.

While it’s human to hurt we need to watch that our hurts don’t define us. Christ was defined by the forgiveness, grace and mercy he extends to all of us who wounded him. We should also aim to have grace greater than our hurts.

• Do you have difficulty picturing Jesus having emotions?
• Why do you think the Bible tells us that Jesus wept, but not that he laughed?
• Does it make a difference to you if Jesus was a “take-it-on-the chin” kind of guy or emotionally sensitive?

“If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?”

Disasters always seem to prompt people to ask God questions. Christians ask God questions. People who once went to church ask God questions again. And some people straight out question God.

• Read John 20:19-31 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

Two days ago two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon. Three people were killed, including an 8 year old boy. Additionally, at least 10 people had limbs amputated and dozens more experienced serious injuries.

In the heat of a moment like this I don’t believe there are any words powerful enough to bring comfort. We’re accustomed to the role of disease and illness in our lives, even if we abhor it. We accept that accidents happen. We acknowledge that nations fight wars that cause the loss of life. But a deliberate act of random violence against unsuspecting individuals is something we’re unprepared for. It makes no sense.

Two days after the bombing the media and public seeks answers to the questions, “Who did this?” and “Why did they do this terrible thing?”  As yet, there are no answers.

I believe many people also turn to God and ask Him an ancient question found in Judges 6:13,

Perhaps we put a little twist on it and ask, “If God is good, why has all this happened to us?” but it’s basically the same question Gideon posed.

I don’t know the mind of God and how he determines when to spare us suffering and when to allow it.

I do know that suffering, pain and death were outside God’s intent for humanity. I also know that one day they will be eradicated. God’s heart abhors sin and its consequences even more than ours. He abhors it so much he personally died to make its eradication possible.

I do know that we live in the midst of a spiritual battleground, so I can’t blame God for everything. There are moments when Satan exerts his power in the world. Sometimes it happens in Somalia, or Angola, and sometimes it happens in our backyard. Sometimes the evil of sin hits people that are faceless and nameless to us. Sometimes their faces and names are all over the media and inescapable. Sometimes the face and name is someone we know and love deeply.

In one sense I like that people question God and moments like this. Asking God questions acknowledges his existence. These questions acknowledge that God might have answers no one else does. And often these questions recognise the power and authority God has because we know that he has the ability to have prevented tragedy. So these questions affirm God’s identity.

On the other hand, the questions people ask often double as accusations. I think Satan likes this. Satan likes when people accuse God of things Satan has prompted. Instead I think there’s great value in hating Satan, hating sin, and hating the consequences of sin. We should never take sin lightly and great tragedies remind us of the true evil of sin and how far removed it is from God’s love and holiness.

I don’t have all the answers. Perhaps you don’t think that I have any answers.

Here’s 3 points from my sermon Sunday that I hope encourage you.

1. Keep taking your questions to God. As long as you’re in dialogue with God, your in the best possible place.
2. Expect answers. Jesus addressed Thomas’ doubts by inviting him to put his hand into the hole in his side. That’s pretty invasive, but Jesus let him because he knew it would help Thomas resolve his doubts. I don’t know the time frame for these answers. Sometimes it might take years. But I do believe that God wants to answer our questions.
3. Our faith will always require faith. Jesus makes this point in John 2:29 when he looks forward to those of us who will never see the human Jesus and he says, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Jesus acknowledge that his future followers would follow by faith. We will always have to live with some questions. At times the best answer we receive from God is “trust Me.” I can never 100% prove that eternity will be better than our lives in the here and now, but I believe it. Sometimes when my world is falling apart I just have to trust that God can somehow hold it together, because I can’t, and it seems like Satan’s winning.

Here are a couple of other resources on this topic:

• A recent guest post on this blog here.
• A blog by a former describing his journey through the darkness of personal tragedy:  http://www.lesfergusonjr.com/
• A friend’s blog here.
• Some thoughts on how Christians respond to violence here.
• A reflection on suffering and tragedy through the eyes of the book The Shack: here.

I don’t have any particular discussion questions this time, but if you have questions or perspectives you’d like to share, please leave a comment.

We will still experience trials and sorrows, but ultimately our fears will disappear and only God’s peace and love will remain.

We live in a society that breeds fear. Our economy generates billions of dollars both promoting fear and then promising to protect us from our fears.

• Read Mark 16 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

I’m not a big fan of Max Lucado’s books. I’m sure he’s a very competent Bible scholar, but I find that in his books he doesn’t let exegesis get in the way of telling a good story. I do find, however, that he knows how to connect with people, so I’m using his book Fearless as a guide for my current sermon series.

In the opening chapter Lucado points out that 20% of Jesus’ commands in the Gospels address his followers’ fears. Here’s the paragraph from the book:

“[Jesus] most common command emerges from the “fear not” genre. The Gospels list some 125 Christ-issued imperatives. Of these, 21 urge us to “not be afraid” or “not fear” or ” have courage” or “take heart” or “be of good cheer.” The second most common command, to love God and neighbor, appears on only eight occasions. If quantity is any indicator, Jesus takes our fears seriously. The one statement he made more than any other was this: don’t be afraid.” (p10-11)

I haven’t verified his numbers, but if they’re not exact I don’t expect they’re far off. The point is, “combating fear was a major component of Jesus’ ministry.” When we think about it this seems obvious because Jesus came to defeat sin and sin breeds fear. In Genesis 3 describes how the immediate response of Adam and Even after committing the inaugural sin was to FEAR.

He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” (Genesis 3:10)

Before sin humanity had nothing to fear. So when Jesus died to defeat sin, he also defeated fear.

In a powerful statement (John 16:33) Jesus reassured his followers prior to his death, saying “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (NLT)

Jesus doesn’t sugar-coat his call to discipleship, but he reminds his followers of the grand scale of his mission. He’s not just making a book tour, or even promoting a new ethic. Jesus overcomes the world. Whatever fear the world may throw at us. However it may seek to intimidate us. Jesus has already overcome it.

I feel that I need to include a disclaimer at this point. Some people in our churches and society suffer from various degrees of depression and anxiety. These are mental health issues. Too often Christians have regarded these struggles as a lack of faith. In fact, these people yearn for faith and wish intensely that their outlook on life was different.

Jesus was not addressing the issue of brain chemicals, hormones, balances and imbalances. Jesus was talking to people who generally handle life well, but when they encounter unpredicted and unpredictable circumstances resort to fear rather than faith. Jesus’ words of reassurance may help those battling anxiety on occasion, but the big question is, “How do they impact your life?”

Jesus has overcome the world. What scares you?

• Do you feel it’s accurate to describe eradicating fear as a primary purpose of Jesus’ ministry?
• Do you agree that there’s a strong connection between sin and fear? Where else do you see this connection in Scripture?
• Some fears are healthy as they prevent us taking unnecessary risks. How can we distinguish between healthy and unhealthy fear?
• Which of these questions would you like me to blog about in the future?

EASTER’S PROMISE

Today’s post is the third in a series of guest posts centered around my church’s annual theme of “Healthy Hearts”. This month’s contributor is K. Rex Butts. His full bio is at the bottom of the post, but here’s a brief intro…

I first met Rex just months after the loss of his son. I came to know him better as we tackled grad school together. Although for the last few years geography has separated us, I stalk Rex through his blog.  I respect that Rex is willing to serve God in difficult circumstances. I also admire his willingness to ask questions that challenge the status quo. Most of all, I value his love for God, and for those seeking God. I appreciate Rex writing this article and sharing his heart with you and pray that you find it encouraging.

I was asked to write on the question of whether or not God can heal the heart.  That’s a great question and especially a great question to ask around Easter Sunday.  Easter among Christians means hearing a lot of talk about the death and resurrection of Jesus.  It’s the story of Jesus dying on the cross on that Good Friday and then rising from the empty tomb on that Resurrection Sunday.

I love the story and as one who believes in Jesus Christ and follows him, I want this story to shape my life…and yours too.  But sometimes that’s hard.  Sometimes, very hard!

This summer will mark eleven years since my wife and I buried our oldest child, Kenneth James Butts.  His death was crushing!  All of the prayers for a healthy child…  Every hope and dream we had for our son growing up to serve God…

            The most difficult thing about such suffering is the way it paralyzes life.  Time stops in a way.  While the rest of the world continues on, oblivious to horror, the pause button on life has not only been pushed but seems stuck.  As a believer, the question is whether or not God can heal the broken heart, restore hope, and give a reason for continuing on in faith.

Struggling With Faith

            Catastrophic suffering, which comes in many forms, may be something that a person never “gets over” so to speak.  I don’t think I have overcome the death of my son but I have learned how to live with it.  That’s what I tell others too.  The question is how?

I want to suggest that it’s a choice of learning to have faith in God again.  However, I don’t mean a faith that suppresses all questions in exchange for absolute certainty.  How could such certainty ever exist again when suffering has opened the door to so many unanswered questions.  What I mean by faith is the choice to trust in God and the promise he makes in the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ (even when many unanswered questions that remain).

In Romans 8, the Apostle Paul writes, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (v. 28, NRSV).^[1]  I don’t believe that this verse is meant to eliminate all faith questions.  Rather, given the context in which Paul describes the Christian life as having “present sufferings” (v. 18) and “groaning” while in wait for the “redemption of our bodies” (vv. 22-23), Paul was offering a word of hope.  This word of hope is grounded in the history of what God has done in Christ, namely through the death and resurrection, and what that means for the future.

There is still so much about God and life that remains mystery.  We’ll likely never know or understand fully why we suffer.  What Paul says reminds us that God is at work for our good, which is our redemption in Christ, and God will get that done.  That’s why Paul goes on to say “in all things we are more than conquerors” in Christ Jesus (v. 37).  Can we trust God with that?

Choosing Faith

            Trusting God again or for the first time isn’t easy.  It takes time, a lot of time too.  Forget any programmatic “how to” process.  It doesn’t exist or at least I haven’t discovered one yet.  But we can choose to believe in the promise that God is still redemptively at work for our good and that in the end all things will somehow work together for this good.

Before my son died, I had a faith of absolute certainty.  When it came to the way God and life worked, I was sure.  With absolute certainty, I was sure.  My son’s death shattered that certainty.  But for nearly two years, I kept trying to gain back that certainty.  I nearly lost all faith in God doing so.  The problem was that the faith I had — absolute certainty —  was gone for good.  I couldn’t go back living as though what had happened didn’t happen, so there wasn’t any possible way to get the certainty I longed for again.  But I did and still do believe that God is redemptively at work in Jesus Christ and so I chose to trust God again and trust what he is doing in Christ.

That choice didn’t eliminate my questions but it freed me from needing the answers… and the need for absolute certainty, which really isn’t faith.  In place of that old faith, I gained a new faith that was assurance.  It was assurance that God is still at work even though I don’t always understand.  This new faith was healing, a healing deep within my heart in the sense that I had hope again.  I was able to go on living again.  God undid the pause button on my life and pushed the play button again.

If you are reading this and you have endured some form of suffering, I hope my own story might help you towards healing in your heart.  I write this with the hope that it gives you the courage to choose faith.  I share this story in hope that you can lean into the Easter story, the story of the crucified and resurrected Jesus Christ, trusting God to heal.

May God bless us all, even in the midst of uncertainties, to trust him and his Easter’s promise!

---

            ^[1] Unfortunately, this passage has often been used as a prooftext offered in response to suffering.  Whether offered as a pastoral response to the pain experienced by those who suffer or as a polemical response to the doubts experienced by the suffering, using this verse as a proof text often comes across as dismissive of the problem.  In other words, it is like trying to put a bandaid on a gaping wound and acting as though that it helpful when in fact it is not.  There isn’t any prooftext which can heal the wounds of suffering.  Only God can do that.  This passage is merely a window to see that redemptive work of God and that is how I use this passage here.

Bio: K. Rex Butts serves as the preacher and minister with the Columbia Church of Christ in Columbia, Maryland. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Harding School of Theology in Memphis, Tennessee, has written numerous articles for Christian publications, and post regular blogs and other materials at www.kingdomseeking.com. Additionally, he has been married to Laura for fourteen years and together they are raising two children.

If this article has encouraged you, please return the favour by leaving a comment to let Rex know. Or perhaps you have questions or comments. I know Rex will check in and respond. So don’t be shy!

For additional perspective on this difficult subject, John Mark Hicks shared his reflection of death and resurrection on his blog here.

“They saw God, and they ate and drank.”

• Read Exodus 24 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

I am continually amazed that I never really heard the story of Exodus 24 until recently. If you had asked me for the list of people in the Bible who had seen God, my list would include: Adam, Eve, Moses. That’s it. Three.

Yet in this one story we find 74 people not only see God, but eat and drink with Him!!!!  How did I miss this?!?

“Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.”    Exodus 24:9-11

That sentence blows my mind as I try to imagine the scene.

The next mention of Aaron and the elders blows my mind just as much.

After the meal, Moses goes up the mountain for 40 days and nights to receive more laws and instructions from God. While he’s gone, the general populous in the Israelite camp get restless. They approach Aaron and request that since Moses is missing, can he make them a new god. (Exodus 32)

If a month ago you had sat down at a meal with God, and seen Him, how would you respond to this request? Here’s some possible answers:

• “You’re right. Moses is gone. I don’t know if God is real. Let’s make a new god for ourselves.”
• “The peasants are rioting. I don’t have an army. I’m powerless. I’d better do what they want.”
• “Since God hasn’t spoken to us for 40 days and has obviously done something to Moses, I think it will be okay to make an idol. He must have changed his mind about wanting to be our God.”
• “Well, I’ve seen God and it was amazing. I think it would be beneficial for the rest of the people to have a visual representation of their God too.”
• “Silence” (Apparently the response of the 70 elders.)
• “Okay. Maybe this will get God’s attention. He’ll send Moses back down the mountain and we can get this dog and pony show on the road again.”

I hope that none of those seem like great answers to you!  It is amazing to me that Aaron, apparently with the consent of other leaders, made an idol with no apparent protest. It was only in Exodus 20 that God gave them the 10 Commandments of which the first is “Have no other gods” and the second is “Don’t make any idols“. Aaron knew the laws. He knew God. He’d seen God and eaten with God! Yet he made an idol for the people.

This incredible sequence of events reminds me how susceptible we are to temptation. Of course it’s good to be close to God. Of course we’re less likely to give in to temptation when we’re devoting ourselves to God. Of course God’s Holy Spirit steers us away from sin. But my mind is drawn to 1 Corinthians 10:12 “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” When we feel strongest and most intimate with God… “Watch out!”

Not Exodus, but another meal in the Presence of God.

Interestingly, this whole section in 1 Corinthians 10 draws on the events of Exodus.  The overall message is that Israel’s adventures are recorded for us to learn from. Paul specifically quotes Exodus 32:6 in making this point. Without recognising the connection between Exodus 24 & 32 I think we miss the power of v12. Even if you saw God, you might turn around and commit deliberate sin. Be on guard.

That idea contains a note of despair. “If I’m not safe when I’m in the presence of God, when am I safe?” But Paul intends this as a comforting statement. In a sense, we’re never delivered from temptation, despite the prayer of Matthew 6:13. The reassurance comes in the next lines of the passage with the promise that each time sin tempts us, God provides a way out. Sin is never an inevitable  consequence of temptation.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.“  1 Corinthians 10:13

I’d love to have you contribute to the conversation by leaving a comment below.

• When do you feel most “In the presence of God”?
• Do you relate at all to Aaron’s lack of transformation after eating and drinking with God?
• Have you experienced the truth that God always provides a way out of temptation?

And that is just one reason why knowing Leviticus is important!

• Read Leviticus 17:11-21 here.
• You can listen to this sermon here.

A former professor of mine, Dr John Mark Hicks, has greatly influenced my perceptions about the Lord’s Supper. You can read some of my thoughts here. Dr Hicks promotes the thought that the Lord’s Supper is most authentically celebrated in the context of a meal. If that suggestion has you scratching your head I strongly recommend his book “Come to the Table“. You can also gain a picture of what this might look like in practical terms in his blog post here.

It was the process of flicking through his book recently (for something else) that prompted me to preach a series of sermons on the topic of Israelite sacrifices found in Leviticus. This would probably surprise him. In preparing each sermon I have barely looked at his book since, but I read a snippet this last week that turned my attention to 1 Corinthians 10:18. In this passage Paul writes, “Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?“

That’s a pretty abstract thought without context. In this passage Paul discusses the Lord’s Supper. He warns the church not to worship idols and God at the same time. His reasoning for this (among other arguments) flows from the nature of the Lord’s Supper. In the Lord’s Supper we connect with Christ. It’s a reality, not just a remote memorial. We cannot join ourselves to an idol, and then come and join ourselves to God expecting him to accept us as holy.

The weight of this argument is contained in verse 18 but easily overlooked if we’re not familiar with the Israelite sacrificial system.

Verse 18 references the Israelites eating sacrifices and compares that to the Lord’s Supper. The only (or at least “only major”) sacrifice that the Israelite public ate was the Fellowship Offering described in Leviticus 3 and 7. So since the Lord’s Supper shares similarities with Fellowship Offerings, perhaps we should understand them a little better.

A Burnt Offering almost always preceded Fellowship Offerings. Burnt Offerings sought forgiveness from God (Lev. 1:4) and dedicated the worshiper to God. In a Burnt Offering the worshiper burnt the entire animal on the altar. Having purified oneself the worshiper could proceed to the Fellowship Offering.

A Fellowship Offering was a freewill offering. God did not demand it. People could offer this sacrifice out of thankfulness for a specific event, or just as a means of praising God for no particular reason. Although it’s called a sacrifice, only the fat of the animal (a bull, sheep or goat) was actually sacrificed. The priests took a portion for their families, the remainder had to be eaten by the worshiper within 24 hours. (In some circumstances it was 48 hrs.)

Since no single worshiper could eat a whole bull, or sheep, or probably not even a goat within 24 hours, we understand that they shared their food with others. Someone making a Fellowship Offering would bring their family and friends with them. This offering is perhaps better described as a communal celebration shared with the priests and even with God. God received the choice portions of the sacrificed animal (the fat). The priest received his share. The community ate together as they celebrated God’s goodness.

In his commentary on Leviticus, Rooker notes regarding 3:11 that the portions burnt “on the altar as food, an offering made tot he Lord by fire“, should not be regarded as the Israelites thinking God needed physical food for nourishment. Rather they offer him this “food” as a means of involving him in their meal. Rooker provided this summary, “The worshiper… shared a meal with the Lord, which means that he had fellowship with him.” (103)

Since Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 draws the analogy between Fellowship Offerings and the Lord’s Supper let’s consider what we can learn from the Fellowship Offering that might inform our contemporary practice.

1. The Fellowship Offering needed to follow a Burnt Offering. The Burnt Offering provided the atonement necessary to allow fellowship between God and his people. Likewise, Paul’s primary concern in 1 Cor. 10 is the holiness of those participating in the Lord’s Supper.
2. The Fellowship Offering is a great name for a ritual that brought God and his people together around a table. But if the idea of God participating in a meal with his people is a bit ambiguous in Leviticus, Paul really brings the idea to the fore. He describes the Lord’s Supper as “participation” in the body and blood of Christ. This differs dramatically from the goal of merely “remembering” the body and blood of Christ.
3. The meal was worship. Paul states that “those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar.” Even if you didn’t bring the sheep to the temple, if you participate in the meal, you join with the others in worshiping, thanking and praising God.
4. Both the Fellowship Offering and the Lord’s Supper involved a full meal. In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul makes it clear that the Lord’s Supper was originally eaten as part of a meal. Although the meal had become problematic Paul doesn’t abolish the meal. He corrects the lack of love present at the meals that allowed some to eat while others were hungry.
5. The Fellowship Offering was always a joyful expression of thankfulness and praise. Similarly, we have much to thank and praise God for as we commune with him around a table. Jesus death grants us the forgiveness we need to approach God’s throne with confidence. Guilt and mourning should not be part of our Lord’s Supper experience. We don’t mourn Jesus death, we celebrate his love and forgiveness.

I know that’s a pretty long post with lots of information. If you have any questions please leave a comment. I’ll answer your questions immediately as best I can and will also write another post if I need to research it.