Rubbish - Part 3

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Tribe of Benjamin – Benjamin was one of the sons of Jacob, aka Israel. The importance of being from the tribe of Benjamin is that Benjamin and Joseph were Jacob’s favorite sons (they were born to Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife). Israel’s first king came from the tribe of Benjamin. Also, the tribe of Benjamin remained faithful to King David during the rebellion of Absalom. The reason Paul includes this in his list is that the Jewish audience would understand that Paul came from a Hebrew family, and as we found out yesterday, was circumcised as the Hebrew ritual would call for. Paul had reason to boast in who he was and where he came from.
So the question I have for you today is: Do you boast in your father’s name or in your Heavenly Father’s name? I am very proud of my name. Back in the town I grew up in, I was known by Rex’s son or Jack’s grandson. The reputation of my dad and grandpa gave me an in. People respected them, so they were going to respect me. My parents raised me, and the influences of grandparents on both sides have had a great effect on who I am today. But the one greatest thing that makes me who I am today is Christ. I strive to find my identity in Christ and Christ alone. As I stated yesterday, I am very proud of my heritage, my parents and grandparents. I hope that my son Asher will be that proud of me some day. But more importantly, I hope and I pray on a daily basis that he will find his identity in Christ.
About 3 years ago we moved away and I took a ministry position at Rock Creek Bible Church. Nobody here knew my dad or grandpa, my reputation was not built on them, they knew me and only me. In a way, it was a good way to show others who I am aside from where or who I came from. It was a blank slate. I could use my identity in Christ to show others how He has formed me into who I am. My heritage does play a big part in that because I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my heritage.
Do you identify yourself with your last name or do you take on the name of the Lord? Your earthly name will be with you all the days of your life, but who you are in Christ will be with you for eternity. Someone will write your name on your tombstone which will erode and someday be gone. But if you identify yourself in Christ, God will write your name in the Lamb’s book of life, which never erodes.

Rubbish - Part 2

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Circumcised – I will not go into the details of what circumcision is, but the main thrust of it was that it was a sign of a covenant between Abraham and God. A covenant that Paul explains in Romans when Abraham was set apart as righteous because of his faith, not because of his circumcision. The circumcision was an outward symbol of his faith. From then on, God commanded His people to be circumcised so that they would be set apart for Him. Over a period of many, many years, the reasons people got circumcised became more about themselves instead of because of who God is and what He did for them. It became a meaningless ritual for some, while others still kept doing it as an outward symbol of their faith.
Here are some passages where Paul tells us that the importance of cirumcision is not the outward physical action, but what is on the inside that counts.
Romans 2:28-29 - that circumcision should not be phyiscal, but rather a condition of your heart.
1 Corithians 7:18-19 - that it doesn’t matter if you are circumcised or not, but keeping the commandments of God is what counts.
Galatians 5:6 and 6:15 - circumcision or uncircumcision counts for nothing, but faith working through love counts, and that we are a new creation.
Colossians 3:11 - There is no Greek, Jew, circumcised, uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free; but Christ is all, and is in all.
It is obvious that Paul doesn’t value the mere act of circumcision, but who we are in Christ.
So we can ask ourselves this question: What actions do I do on the outside to “represent” my faith or the condition of my soul? Do we do things on the outside in order to impress others or even ourselves? Maybe for some it is baptism, an outward symbol of your faith. But are you doing it because every 8th grader has always done it or because your parents made you? Maybe it is praying at a table in a restaurant, trying to get others attention rather than conversing with the Almighty. What are the reasons you do these outward acts? To build confidence in your self or to help you know Christ Jesus in a continous way? If it is the former, then I suggest you throw the towel in, because you will never make it. The only way we can make it through this life is with a desire to know Christ Jesus as our Lord in a ongoing way. We may fall, no, we will fall and it will hurt. But in a strange way, that is how we know God is helping us.

Rubbish - Part 1

We put our trash bags in our garage until it is time to have it hauled away. This last week, we had something that smelled a little funky in one of the trash bags. When the smell was no longer funky, but rather very pungent, I decide to air out the garage. It helped, the fresh air came in and the pungent funk went out. Trash seems to have many different yet distinct odors and it reeks of rubbish. There is more rubbish in our lives than we think, but this trash isn’t just in trash bags and waste baskets. Garbage can be all over our lives and we never smell it or see it. It usually can be seen by others before us because we are too used to it being around us. This garbage can consist of things like bad habits and sinful things we are tied up in. But according the Apostle Paul, rubbish is not ONLY the bad things in our lives, but also good things that keep us from growing closer to Christ. In Philippians chapter 3, Paul goes through a list of things that he has done to make himself the most righteous person, the most confident person. Then after the list he says that he counts all that stuff as rubbish. The things that Paul did to make himself confident in his flesh include being brought up in the right culture, being part of the right family, following the right rules, and executing orders in the right manner. So, being brought up in a Christian home, in a small town where people respect me because of my name and following the proper protocol is rubbish? It can be. Paul tells us that he counted all those things as loss for the sake of his salvation through Christ. He goes on and says that it is worth counting them as loss because of what he has in knowing Christ. The word “knowing” is a present participle, meaning that this knowledge is incomplete and constant and Paul does not want to stop learning Christ. He doesn’t want his confidence in himself to hinder his confidence in Christ. He wants to know less of the sinful Paul and know more of the Christ. Our Pastor asked us this Sunday if we are willing to give up our name for Christ. I am proud of who I am, my heritage. I am proud to say that my Anabaptist relatives came over from what is now Germany to escape religious persecution. I am thankful that I come from a line of faithful and godly people. But I will not dwell or boast on my religious heritage, but I will rather boast in what Christ has done for me and what He has in store for me.* My next 4 posts will deal with the garbage list that Paul gives in Philippians 3:4-6. I will try to give some practical applications we can use in our lives to get rid of the rubbish.

*Disclaimer* Now, I want to make one thing clear, my relatives are not garbage, they are wonderful people. But I could easily dwell on what they did and put their actions in front of what Christ did for me. My relatives did not die for my sins; they did not defeat death on the cross. But they did live their lives as examples of godly men and women who have put their faith in Christ and who also desired to know Christ in a continuous way.

Jephthah

For my devotions yesterday and today I read about the story of Jephthah in the book of Judges. This story is very tragic in what happens to his only child, his daughter. I never really paid too much attention to this story, just figuring it was one of the gruesome stories of the book of Judges. Then two years ago almost to the day I was up in Chicago at Moody’s Pastor Conference. I heard one of the most amazing preachers in the world, Haddon Robinson. The passage he preached on was the story of Jephthah in Judges. At that particular time we were going through the book of Judges in our teen Bible study at church, so I was pumped. Where else to get better material than from one of the best expository preachers of our time? For the duration of the 38 minutes and 10 seconds he preached it was obvious that everyone in the packed auditorium was waiting for his next word. For those of you who don’t know the story of Jephthah, here is a quick run down: He was born of a prostitute and kicked out of his house by his brothers because he was illegitimate. He went to the land of Tob and led a group of scoundrels and thugs. He was a mighty warrior and knew how to handle a sword. Israel was in the thick of apostasy and had been worshiping idols and had been sold into the hands of Philistines and the Ammonites. The elders of Gilead (Jephthah’s father) went to Jephthah and asked him to lead the armies of Israel to defeat the Ammonites. He ended up leading them victoriously, but before he started, he made a vow to God,
“If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” Jephthah led the Israelites to victory and on his way home, his only child, his daughter, ran out of the house to meet him. Jephthah, who was shunned at a young age and basically raised himself in a foreign land, did not fully understand the grace of God. He didn’t know that God did not honor human sacrifice. He went ahead and sacrificed his daughter.

The message of Robinson’s sermon was that faith without theology is dangerous. Jephthah had faith in God, but he lacked the theology, the understanding of who God is. Did God honor Jephthah for his faith? Did he accept the sacrifice of his daughter? I am pretty sure he didn’t accept it as a pleasant aroma. But if you look in Hebrews 11:32 where the writer is going through a list of the Old Testament Saints who made it to the Hall of Faith, Jephthah is mentioned. Why? Because he had faith. God did not honor the sacrifice of his daughter, but He did honor Jephthah’s faith.

So what can we learn from this story? When we have faith in God, we need to have the theology to back that faith up. God will still honor our faith if it is true, but it can be dangerous without theology and may have consequences on this earth. Jephthah was basically kicked out of Israel and spent the majority of his life in Tob. He didn’t know much about God What he knew was that God was real and He had led Israel out of Egypt. But he didn’t know all there was to know about God. We have the Word of God at our hands, so we probably can’t get away with sacrificing our children. We can’t pull the “I didn’t know” card when he have the answers in front of us. It is like school. When the teacher has given us the material, we are responsible for reading and memorizing it so we can take the test. We can’t say the dog ate my homework and get away with it. True faith in Christ will get us to Heaven, our theology and what we do with our faith decides our rewards when we get there.

Please Stand for the Honorary Judge Regier

Please stand for the honorary Judge Regier. Sometimes I feel that is what I hear when I begin to judge others. Do I really think that I have the right to judge others on their appearance and their ideals without even knowing anything about them? I don’t. Why do I always think that I can judge someone by just looking at them or by talking with them for the first time? Well, because I am human. But does that excuse me from doing it? No. The whole world judged a particular person a few weeks ago, Susan Boyle. By the appearance she had and the comments she made, the world probably thought, “This lady will by x’d off stage in no time and maybe even laughed off.” But then she sang. The world stood still, and even the unthinkable happened, Simon Cowell smiled. The world still awaits the final outcome of Susan Boyle, but even if she doesn’t win, she has won in the hearts of many across this planet.

We so often judge on appearance, what people wear, what their hair looks like, what style of music they listen to, what they watch, and the list can go on and on and on. But do we know them? Do we truly know the reasons why they dress the way they do? If you don’t then you best stop judgin’. If you do, then you best have the best intentions for helping them if you are judgin’. We think we can do a better job at being the Mayor or Pastor or Governor or Senator or even President, but you know what, says who? You. What makes you more qualified? I love the way that Eugene Peterson writes Matthew 7:1-5 in The Message: “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.”

We should check ourselves before we check someone else. What makes us more qualified than the next person? What makes our lives better than the person down the street? What makes our reasons for dressing the way we do better than the other person? If it lies in your opinion or even your own standards or ethics, then it still isn’t right. We aren’t supposed to judge others to make ourselves feel or look better, we are supposed to judge others to help them with their walk with God. We have their best interests above ours. If all of us would do that, then racism, prejudices, hatred, and fear would no longer be issues.

There are a lot of Susan Boyles out there, people who look and act a little or maybe a lot differently than we do. But you may not know the story behind it, and don’t judge until you do. Don’t judge until you have put their interests above your own.

Artist of the Week

Artist: Bluetree
Album: God of This City
Song: When I Survey

I really like to listen to artists who have accents. I have always liked the Newsboys and Rebecca St. James with their Australian accents. Then there is Matt Redman and Delirious from the UK. But perhaps the coolest accent of all is the Irish accent. The mainstream band U2 is a lot of fun to listen to, and this week’s Artist of the Week is from Ireland as well. Bluetree has just recently been hitting the Christian radio stations in the US with their new worship song, God of This City. Bluetree is a band that has been around since 2004 and has been active in the UK since then. The band was actually born out of frustration of the idea that worship is only from the heart. Here is what the lead singer Aaron Boyd has to say: “We are Jesus’ hands and feet in the world. Let’s not just ask God to change everything, but let’s be a blessing and speak words of life into people’s difficult circumstances.” I totally agree with the frustration that brought this band into existence. Worship is not just from our heart and our attitude towards God, it is our life. If we want to truly worship God, we need to worship Him with all of our lives. This album is filled with genuine worship songs that inspire us to live for God. One of the songs on the album is an old hymn, which is this week’s song. When I Survey is Bluetree’s version of When I Survey The Wondrous Cross.

I give Bluetree 5 out of 5 dundies for lyrical content, as their songs are wonderfully written worship songs that truly inspire you to bow and worship God. I also give them 5 out of 5 on musical style and talent. They are gifted in voice and instrument and they are using that for the glory of God. One really awesome thing about Bluetree is that when you buy their album on DiGSTATION for $7.99, they will donate $2 of each album sold to help end child trafficking.

Here are the lyrics to the song. Click on Artist of the Week to see a video on YouTube of the song put to a slideshow of pictures. Enjoy!

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all

Plant A Seed, Grow A . . . Pumpkin Crown?

We just got done planting our garden, and we didn’t use any seeds. It is hard and tedious to plant seeds. Especially things like carrots and radishes, where the seeds are so tiny. So we, like many other people, used the little plants. It takes a lot of work out of it for you. No watering little tomatoes for weeks, you just plant the plant in the garden and let the sprinkler do the rest. We even planted some pumpkins this year. I remember years back when we planted a pumpkin plant and it grew and grew and grew and vined out all over the garden. It even went out of the garden (and we had a big garden, big enough to use a tractor and disc to till it up each year). I think I am going to train our pumpkin to stay a little smaller this year.
I found out something very interesting this last week about a seed. I came to know Christ as my Savior at the age of 5. I always remembered that since my brother was a Christian, I wanted what he had, so I had always thought that my mom led me to Christ and prayed with me. That is what I remembered, but not what really happened. This is the true story that I found out about this week: My brother and I were up in my room by ourselves and he is the one who led me to Christ. After that, he went and told my mom about it and she came up and prayed with both of us and thanked God for my brother leading me to Christ. In my mind, all I remember is my mom praying with me, so I always figured it was her that led me to Christ, but in fact it was my brother. Now how does all this correspond with a seed? Well my brother planted a seed in my life many, many years ago. I wanted what he had. I wanted Jesus in my life. The interesting thing about that seed that he planted all those years ago is that it has grown and grown and branched off and grown some more. Since my brother led me to Christ, I have had numerous opportunities to share the Gospel with others and lead some to Christ. The cool thing about that is, all the people I have touched and seeds I have planted, they all go back to what my brother did for me in my bedroom almost 24 years ago. It doesn’t stop there, it keeps going; the people I have shared the Gospel with have shared it with others, and those people heard the Gospel at that point in time because of what my brother did for me. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:8 that we will have rewards in Heaven, according to our labor for God here on earth. When we plant seeds or water them, we get rewards for that. When someone we planted a seed in plants a seed in someone else, we get rewards for that. It grows and grows and grows, like a pumpkin. Paul then goes on in verses 9-15 about how our works and deeds on earth will be tested by God. I encourage you to read that passage so you can be sure of what you are building your life with: gold or wood, silver or hay, or precious stones or straw? Something that lasts or something that won’t stand the test? Now, it is clear in that passage, that no matter what you build with, it is what you build it on that matters the most. If you build it on Christ, then you will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. However, the materials you use to build decide how many rewards you get. What do you want to build your house out of? Wood, hay, straw or gold, silver, or precious stones? It is how you live your life and why you do it that way that decides what you will use.