Do you ever wonder where some of our Christian habits come from? I have been giving a little thought to the prayer ritual that has been a part of the western church for a very long time. I have sat through innumerable altar calls where we were told to have every eye closed and every head bowed so someone could sneak up a hand unnoticed to be prayed for or to be "saved". Where in the world did that come from? Not from any Scripture I am aware of. It does not seem to be the call to, "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). It was more like "Let me sneak into the kingdom unnoticed". I don't find that anywhere either. Another question I have is why the folded hands routine. We folks from a western culture teach this to children at a very early age. "No cookie until the head is bowed and hands folded and we thank Jesus for this wonderful provision of artificial colors and sugar." The bowed head is well attested to. The tax collector in Luke 18:13 was ashamed to even look to heaven as he cried out for God's mercy. The word "worship" means to bow down or to prostrate oneself and prayer can be an act of worship.
Some of us do lift our hands up in worship. Others find this uncomfortable for traditional reasons far more than Biblical ones. However, lifted open hands in prayer is not a western thing to do. A number of more eastern cultures follow this tradition which we do find in Scripture. David tells us in Psalm 132:2, "Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD." Jeremiah agrees, "Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:41). And for those who need a New Testament verification Paul tells Timothy, "I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting" (1 Timothy 2:8). I understand that body position is not a requirement for God to hear us. He hears whenever we cry out, but perhaps David and the Apostle Paul are onto something here.
Lifting empty hands that are set apart for God seems like a pretty good symbolic gesture. Putting on display that I am open to receive whatever the Lord has for me. Also, making it obvious that I come empty handed, nothing hidden, nothing to offer as a bribe. Just me in my need, in my praise, or with thanksgiving. How does God place things into hands tightly folded? It may seem like a bit of a psychological ploy to sit quietly with palms open and slightly raised as you pray, however, it may change your attitude just a bit when you come to your Heavenly Father. Just to show, through your body language, that you are open to whatever the Lord has for you.
The danger with anything we do is to turn what could be a help in our communion with God to something else. We could turn it into an element of pride, "I pray Biblically 'caus I lift my hands". Add in a bit of judgement toward others and your holy hands are pretty soiled. We might allow ourselves to feel God is now, somehow, more attentive or even obligated to answer just because we are following Jeremiah's example. Yet, even with these potential dangers, perhaps a little change in position could breathe some new life into our prayer times.
One thing we know, and that is God desires to commune with us in prayer. Sometimes a small thing can remind us of how frail and dependent we are and how willing He is to place just what we need on our open hands.
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Christians Should Not Get Married
Why would you ever want to get married? It is true that God instituted the whole idea of marriage and family from back in Genesis two. He created one man and then seeing it was not good for man to be alone created one woman to be his ideal helper and partner for life. It was not all that complicated. However, as is true with pretty much everything, humanity has been consistently corrupting the simple plan. Multiple wives came pretty early and with that competition for affections. Rivalry between siblings that ended up in death and destruction. Still, it is God's remarkable plan and His picture of His relationship between Himself and His people, be it Israel or the followers of Messiah. Unfortunately, what we see around us is a picture so distorted it borders on blasphemy and a profane practice that dishonors the Lord.
This is obviously a generalization for there are a great many God honoring marriages that give a great picture of how Christ loves the church. I have been blessed with over 40 years of marriage to a remarkable woman. She has served with me in the rearing of five children and all these years of ministry. I have friends who are celebrating those 25th,30th,45th, and even 50th anniversaries. Some marriages hold the picture of Christ's love and commitment pretty well. Yet, there are so many that have fallen off track. Being a pastor I have the great joy of seeing committed couples take those precious vows before the Lord, family and friends and then stay the course. I have been around long enough to see many of them last and grow to honor the Lord and be a delight to His eyes.
However, these are not the only ones I see. I believe the issue may be that couples may get married for the wrong reasons. One is, sort of contractual. They decide these are the specifics and expectations that need to be met and if there is eventual failure then the option to dissolve the contract is only reasonable. The other big one is love. Lots of couples marry for love. To be loved and to feel love for another. This has the danger of a feeling based relationship. If my feelings change then it is time to look for the exit. The most successful marriages have a different foundation. It is simply, "How can we bring God glory and serve Him together?" If that is not the focus and reason behind the union the opportunity for failure is lurking in the shadows. Service for others, especially your spouse, is the key to growing in the agape lasting love that we see in Christ's commitment to us. Christ came to serve, not to be served. We need the same motivating factor in our lives.
The most common reason for marriage failures that I have encountered over the past several years among believers is the feeling that someone's "needs" are not being met. The "needs" issue is convenient for it can be remarkably vague. It usually means that in some way I do not feel fulfilled. You are my marriage partner so that is your responsibility. You have failed. The little disappointments build, are catalogued, and often magnified by one partner or the other and escape is the new motivation. It is often the case that there is no hope for repair or reconciliation. The list is embedded and grows with each effort or failure. "I can change, just give me the opportunity." "If you could be different you could have changed long ago and chose not to. Now I have another reason to be disappointed and hurt." This death spiral is hard to defeat. Marriage is about having my needs met, I do not feel that way, God would not want me to go through life unhappy, so I am out of here. If the foundation had been serving God and their spouse, it is far less likely to take that descent to the black hole of disappointment, turned to anger, turned to bitterness.
For believers, marriage is a decision to become a servant. To see that it is God who put this concept together, so it is God's reputation that is on the line. Each failed marriage is an opportunity to highlight God's failure. If He were really loving and cared then my marriage would have lasted. Why should I be devoted to serve a God who lets me feel this way? I have a right to have my "needs" met and the spouse God gave me failed so God gave me the wrong spouse. If children are involved they now also have a reason to see God as an inept failure. They have a reason for anger toward this failed God to fester. Satan is the victor and the world has no vision of what it is to know that Christ loves His church.
Christian marriages fail at a slightly higher rate than non Christian marriages. Christians seem to come with expectations that God has provided them with one who will meet all their felt needs. They will know love that comes unconditionally while their own service is optional or conditional. Maybe it would save God's reputation and His picture of Christ's love for the church if believers just stayed single. They could be loved by others without any expectations of sacrificial service on their own part. And if they felt their needs were not being met they could just go to another church. No need for embarrassment or some messy separation. We do that pretty well already. Maybe we need to look at the foundation we will build upon before we make that marriage commitment. If service is not our motivation then maybe it is not time to say yes to marriage. As much as I find great joy in performing marriage I also have known way too much pain in seeing marriages fail. Maybe it could save the Lord and us a lot of disappointment and pain.
This is obviously a generalization for there are a great many God honoring marriages that give a great picture of how Christ loves the church. I have been blessed with over 40 years of marriage to a remarkable woman. She has served with me in the rearing of five children and all these years of ministry. I have friends who are celebrating those 25th,30th,45th, and even 50th anniversaries. Some marriages hold the picture of Christ's love and commitment pretty well. Yet, there are so many that have fallen off track. Being a pastor I have the great joy of seeing committed couples take those precious vows before the Lord, family and friends and then stay the course. I have been around long enough to see many of them last and grow to honor the Lord and be a delight to His eyes.
However, these are not the only ones I see. I believe the issue may be that couples may get married for the wrong reasons. One is, sort of contractual. They decide these are the specifics and expectations that need to be met and if there is eventual failure then the option to dissolve the contract is only reasonable. The other big one is love. Lots of couples marry for love. To be loved and to feel love for another. This has the danger of a feeling based relationship. If my feelings change then it is time to look for the exit. The most successful marriages have a different foundation. It is simply, "How can we bring God glory and serve Him together?" If that is not the focus and reason behind the union the opportunity for failure is lurking in the shadows. Service for others, especially your spouse, is the key to growing in the agape lasting love that we see in Christ's commitment to us. Christ came to serve, not to be served. We need the same motivating factor in our lives.
The most common reason for marriage failures that I have encountered over the past several years among believers is the feeling that someone's "needs" are not being met. The "needs" issue is convenient for it can be remarkably vague. It usually means that in some way I do not feel fulfilled. You are my marriage partner so that is your responsibility. You have failed. The little disappointments build, are catalogued, and often magnified by one partner or the other and escape is the new motivation. It is often the case that there is no hope for repair or reconciliation. The list is embedded and grows with each effort or failure. "I can change, just give me the opportunity." "If you could be different you could have changed long ago and chose not to. Now I have another reason to be disappointed and hurt." This death spiral is hard to defeat. Marriage is about having my needs met, I do not feel that way, God would not want me to go through life unhappy, so I am out of here. If the foundation had been serving God and their spouse, it is far less likely to take that descent to the black hole of disappointment, turned to anger, turned to bitterness.
For believers, marriage is a decision to become a servant. To see that it is God who put this concept together, so it is God's reputation that is on the line. Each failed marriage is an opportunity to highlight God's failure. If He were really loving and cared then my marriage would have lasted. Why should I be devoted to serve a God who lets me feel this way? I have a right to have my "needs" met and the spouse God gave me failed so God gave me the wrong spouse. If children are involved they now also have a reason to see God as an inept failure. They have a reason for anger toward this failed God to fester. Satan is the victor and the world has no vision of what it is to know that Christ loves His church.
Christian marriages fail at a slightly higher rate than non Christian marriages. Christians seem to come with expectations that God has provided them with one who will meet all their felt needs. They will know love that comes unconditionally while their own service is optional or conditional. Maybe it would save God's reputation and His picture of Christ's love for the church if believers just stayed single. They could be loved by others without any expectations of sacrificial service on their own part. And if they felt their needs were not being met they could just go to another church. No need for embarrassment or some messy separation. We do that pretty well already. Maybe we need to look at the foundation we will build upon before we make that marriage commitment. If service is not our motivation then maybe it is not time to say yes to marriage. As much as I find great joy in performing marriage I also have known way too much pain in seeing marriages fail. Maybe it could save the Lord and us a lot of disappointment and pain.
Sunday, May 6, 2018
God's Retirement Plan
Today I turn 65. For many of my friends this has been their awaited birthday. Woo hoo! Retirement has come! For me it is Sunday and I get to share a teaching from 1 Thessalonians, and to enjoy a time of praise and worship and to be with my church family. It is pretty much just another Sunday. I do not mean to down play my accumulating years and I do understand I do not have the same body I had a few years ago. It is clear this 1953 model has some mileage and wear that allows me to anticipate trading it in on that new model God has promised. I do, at times, wonder about the American obsession with retirement. Everyone is busy preparing for it. We look for the best plan we can get when we search for a job. We consider which state is the most retirement friendly. We look to the joy of medicare and part "A" and "B" and "D" and fifteen thousand various supplemental and advantage plans to "cover the gaps". And there is the Social Security issue. Take it early, or now or later or will it all be gone anyway? How did our future get so crowded with what we will do when we finally get older? Is there something magical about the number of years that you have lived? When we lived in Wichita, KS the gentleman who lived next to us turned 100 years old. He and his wife still lived independently and he still got around with just the occasional help of a cane. The local news came out to interview him and asked him this most reasonable question, "What do you attribute to your long life?" I will never forget his answer. He said, "I haven't died yet."
None of us know the days that have been allotted us. I have been granted more years than my maternal grandmother, my paternal grandfather, and my mom. My dad hit 84 and I think his mom was 94. I am hoping for her genes. The most common question I am receiving is, "When are you retiring?" I point to Charles Stanley who is writing and consistently preaching at 84 so I have another 20 years or so. I love what I do. I love what I study. I love the people I minister with. I love the truth that I get to experience the promise that, "His mercies are new every morning". So why would I want to stop now? It has taken me this long to just begin to see a bit of the Hebrew culture behind the New Testament writings. According to my primary care physician and my recent surgeon I am in great shape. They do throw in that irritating conditional clause, "For your age" thing. I asked Dr. Singh what that meant. Was it because I didn't drool when I talked, or got to his office on my own power? Why can't I just be in good shape? He responded that he sees lots of men in their 40's who would long to be in my physical condition. That helped a little, or it is an indictment against 40 year old males on the fast track to an early retirement from life.
The real question to consider is, what is God's retirement program? I found a few examples in Scripture. First, Genesis 5:23-24, "So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." Live long and then be taken into God's presence, apparently bypassing death. That seems like a great option. The second is found in 2 Kings 2:11, "Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire, separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." Now that would be cool! Same no death option but add a pyrotechnic feature with a chariot and horses of fire! Not a bad way to go. However the most common retirement program is more like this, "So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David" (1 Kings 2:10). This program is listed at least thirty-six times in the Scriptures. Being "full of days" or having lived X number of years and begot sons and daughters and died is pretty common as well.
There is no reference to Social Security, Medicare or even retirement in God's Word. People just lived and worked and cared for their families. When parents became aged their children cared for them and the grandchildren learned from previous generations. Now, it is true that responsibilities changed, but no one looked to a particular age so they could do what they wanted. No one said,"Hey, I've put in my time so now we can travel and take cruises and buy the boat." I do not see the disciples asking the Lord what their retirement package was. The Lord's service was a life time commitment. I do not fault those who have planned and are off to enjoy those later years without the day to day work and career responsibilities. But, maybe the Lord has granted those extra years to do some short term mission trips or even help out at a home mission office. Maybe you have more to offer the teen group or children's church program than most people tied to that 9 to 5 thing. I find it hard to believe that God has granted those extra years to retire from serving His body. No matter what your age you are still an essential part. I Corinthians does not say the hand is no longer a part of the body at age 65 or 85 for that matter.
Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed in light of the Lord's blessings and service. It seems God's idea of retirement goes something like this. "Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." By the way, it does not say enter into the joy of retirement. Matthew 25 indicates that we will still have stuff to do. Maybe have even more responsibilities than we have now. But, that is a part of God's retirement program.
None of us know the days that have been allotted us. I have been granted more years than my maternal grandmother, my paternal grandfather, and my mom. My dad hit 84 and I think his mom was 94. I am hoping for her genes. The most common question I am receiving is, "When are you retiring?" I point to Charles Stanley who is writing and consistently preaching at 84 so I have another 20 years or so. I love what I do. I love what I study. I love the people I minister with. I love the truth that I get to experience the promise that, "His mercies are new every morning". So why would I want to stop now? It has taken me this long to just begin to see a bit of the Hebrew culture behind the New Testament writings. According to my primary care physician and my recent surgeon I am in great shape. They do throw in that irritating conditional clause, "For your age" thing. I asked Dr. Singh what that meant. Was it because I didn't drool when I talked, or got to his office on my own power? Why can't I just be in good shape? He responded that he sees lots of men in their 40's who would long to be in my physical condition. That helped a little, or it is an indictment against 40 year old males on the fast track to an early retirement from life.
The real question to consider is, what is God's retirement program? I found a few examples in Scripture. First, Genesis 5:23-24, "So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him." Live long and then be taken into God's presence, apparently bypassing death. That seems like a great option. The second is found in 2 Kings 2:11, "Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire, separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." Now that would be cool! Same no death option but add a pyrotechnic feature with a chariot and horses of fire! Not a bad way to go. However the most common retirement program is more like this, "So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David" (1 Kings 2:10). This program is listed at least thirty-six times in the Scriptures. Being "full of days" or having lived X number of years and begot sons and daughters and died is pretty common as well.
There is no reference to Social Security, Medicare or even retirement in God's Word. People just lived and worked and cared for their families. When parents became aged their children cared for them and the grandchildren learned from previous generations. Now, it is true that responsibilities changed, but no one looked to a particular age so they could do what they wanted. No one said,"Hey, I've put in my time so now we can travel and take cruises and buy the boat." I do not see the disciples asking the Lord what their retirement package was. The Lord's service was a life time commitment. I do not fault those who have planned and are off to enjoy those later years without the day to day work and career responsibilities. But, maybe the Lord has granted those extra years to do some short term mission trips or even help out at a home mission office. Maybe you have more to offer the teen group or children's church program than most people tied to that 9 to 5 thing. I find it hard to believe that God has granted those extra years to retire from serving His body. No matter what your age you are still an essential part. I Corinthians does not say the hand is no longer a part of the body at age 65 or 85 for that matter.
Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed in light of the Lord's blessings and service. It seems God's idea of retirement goes something like this. "Well done my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." By the way, it does not say enter into the joy of retirement. Matthew 25 indicates that we will still have stuff to do. Maybe have even more responsibilities than we have now. But, that is a part of God's retirement program.
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