Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Psalm 63

Back in college, my girlfriend (who is now my wife) went oversees for spring semester.  She spent three weeks in India, a week in Singapore, and three months in Indonesia.  I spent the semester with a jacked up schedule–24 credit hours (16 is considered full time).  By the time she came back, people said I looked like a sad puppy walking around campus.  I missed her like crazy.  I buried myself in school just to keep busy.  I never left my room.  She came back a few days before the rest of the team (I was getting ready for my kidney transplant), and a few days later, we were engaged.

The old saying really is true.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Psalm 63 is another Psalm of David.  It was probably written during his time of exile, which resulted from his son trying to overthrow him to take over the kingdom.  David and his entourage were in the wilderness.  He was away from the tabernacle, which was the center of worship for the nation.  His circumstances inspired him to write these words to open the psalm:

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Absent from his city, his palace, and the center of worship for God, David’s heart grew fonder for God.  He grew desperate for God.

How do our circumstances affect our view of God?  A lot of people are spiritually bi-polar.  They’re super excited when life is good, and they’re all about God–they’re going to church, they’re reading their Bible, they won’t shut up about their faith.  And then life takes a big dump on them.  Suddenly, their vitality for God is gone.  Instead of turning to God as David did in the midst of his terrible situation, they run from him.  They start to believe that, because their life isn’t good, that He doesn’t love them or that He’s punishing them.  Are times of doubt, frustration, and questioning OK?  Absolutely!  Just read through most of David’s psalms!  But David never ran from God.  He wrestled with God.  He wrestled with his doubts and frustrations.  In the end, he placed his reliance on God in spite of his circumstances.  In the case of Psalm 63, the absence of comfort and certainty made David’s heart grow fonder.

So what kind of person are you?  An “absence makes the heart grow fonder” type person–who stays near to God regardless of their situation and regardless of how they feel?  A person who’s willing to wrestle with their doubts and frustrations with God?  Or are you an “out of sight, out of mind” type person–who is in a constant state of flux:  God must love me because life is good; God must be punishing me because life is tough?  There’s a huge difference.  One relies on God’s grace; the other relies on their own efforts to make God love them.  One is life-giving; one is life-taking.

God’s heart breaks at our tough situations, because sin causes them (directly or indirectly).  There will be times when He feels distant.  But He isn’t.  The best thing I’ve found to help me is to keep up my routine–to continue connecting with God through the Bible, to continue praying (even when I’m going through doubts and frustrations–and God can handle those).  It’s when I withdraw from those things that I find myself far from God.  If we can do those things, we’ll find ourselves like David–yearning for God, no matter what our circumstance.

Trophy Case

Psalm 62

Today’s reading reminded me of the trophy cases and award plaques at my high school (and every high school).  The football players have one.  The basketball players have one.  The rest of the sports have to share one.  The academic stuff gets a wall.  My name is on one of those plaques on the academic wall.  I wasn’t an athlete (although I did letter in golf).  I was very proud of my name being on that wall–it was for being the top senior in the Social Studies department.  I scored the highest on the exit-level test, and it got my name on the wall, and a big fat medal.  No one had ever scored as high as I did on that test.  I was really proud of it.  Now, thirteen years later, all I can think is… wow, you were a frickin’ geek.  My wife would say that I still am…

It’s natural to be proud of accomplishments.  The dude who sets the school record in rushing yards, or the girl who breaks the basketball career scoring record, or the geek who knows every American vice president.  When it happens, we get all jacked up.  But after a while, when the dust settles, and when someone comes along who does better, our accomplishments are forgotten… if they haven’t been already.

It’s the same way in the grown up world.  We get all excited about the house we bought, or the car we purchased, or the TV we financed, or the big whatever that gives us bragging rights.  It’s awesome… until the dog (or the baby) craps on the carpet, until the transmission drops onto the highway, until someone accidentally burns an image onto that plasma TV, or whatever happens to make your accomplishment a thing of the past.  Then it isn’t so awesome.

Why do we base our self-worth on such worthless things?

In Psalm 62, David compares himself to the wicked.  David places his hope in God, while the wicked find their pride in worthless things.  Look at what David writes in Psalm 62:7-8,

On God my salvation and my glory rest; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God.  Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

David, of all people, could brag about his trophy case.  He won the ancient UFC title by knocking out a giant (and cutting his head off with the giant’s own sword).  He had a song sung about him.  He was the Rambo of his day.  He became king.  He was a rock star.  He had (as most ancient kings did) a collection of smokin’ hot wives–and when they weren’t enough, he bedded a desperate housewife stripper (not exactly to his glory or credit, mind you, because it caused him a huge amount of mental, emotional, and spiritual pain).  There were a lot of things David could brag about… yet, he didn’t find glory in them.  He didn’t base his self-worth in them.  All of these things were like a trophy case filled with things that would collect dust and eventually be moved to make room for the accomplishments of others.  David’s personal glory rested on the glory of God. 

What’s in our trophy case–where does our glory rest?  What do we derive our self-worth from?  Is it in a possession, or a bank account balance, or a career resume, or another person?  It’s difficult for us to realize that these things are temporary, and that one day they will not matter.  Later in the Bible, Jesus tells us to (and I’m paraphrasing) build up a trophy case in heaven–to invest our lives in things of eternal significance and importance, in things that won’t fade, wear out, or break down.  In order for us to do that, we have to clear out the old trophy case–we have to stop placing so much importance on temporary things.  In fact, we can use those temporary things for eternal significance. 

The house… use it to invest in the lives of people that need to know Jesus.  Host a house church.  Invite others over to hang out.  Develop hospitality.

The job… see it as a service to God.  See it as a mission field of people who may not know Jesus.  You never know what may come of those relationships.

The finances… use them generously to support God’s work of multiplying His kingdom.  Generously support your church.  After that, if you’re able, support a missionary.  Give to the poor.

Jesus was right.  Wherever our treasure–our trophy cases–are, that’s where our heart is.  Where is your heart?  Where is your glory?  In temporary things, or on things of eternal significance? 

We’re Having a Baby!

No, my wife isn’t pregnant.  I’m talking about our church…

This past Tuesday (March 25), our church started our third micro-church on the southern end of Harrisonburg.  There were seven of us there.  All but two of us are either de-churched (it’s been years since we’ve regularly attended a church) or completely unchurched (the planter, before he came to Discovery, was severely de-churched). 

Here’s how the new church should progress, in construction terms: 

1. We’ve laid the foundation–Jesus.  We’re spending the next several months reading through the Bible book of John (one of the biographies of Jesus), at a chapter a week pace.  We’re just getting familiar with Jesus.
2. We’re putting up the framework.  As we run across things in the book of John, we’re introducing them into the new church.  For example, when we got to the end of John 1, we read about a dude named Andrew who spent a day with Jesus, and then went and found his brother Peter.  He convinced Peter to come and meet Jesus.  I got to explain our core value of Commission, which is all about introducing people to Jesus.  We talked about other people in our life that we would like to introduce to Jesus.  We also talked about doing an event to invite these people to, especially if they’re not quite ready to “come to church.”  So, the church is all of two days old, and those who came are already thinking about bringing new people.
3. In time, the “house” will be finished.  By the time we get through John, this new church should be a fully functioning micro-church within the Discovery network of micro-churches.  We’ll have introduced everything our churches do–the Lord’s Supper, DVD teaching/discussion, prayer, offering, just hanging out.  We’ll have talked numerous times about our five core values.  We’ll have introduced and implimented our strategy for reaching new people, for serving our neighbors and community, and for eventually starting a new church from this new church.

So, right now, it’s screaming, kicking, purple, and covered in cheese… but the new church has started!

Wednesday Extravaganza: Sabotage–Sabotage Prevention: Discernment (10 of 13)

For those of you who were expecting this post yesterday, sorry!  It’s been a packed out week…

1 John 4:1-6

Beloved, do not believer every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.  By this you know the Spirit of God:  every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.  You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God; we who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us.  By this we know the spirit of truth from the spirit of error.

Background
John takes time in this section to contrast himself and his fellow apostles (the rest of the 12 who were with Jesus during his time on earth, and the apostle Paul) with the false teachers who were sabotaging Jesus.  This section focuses on the differences in their messages about Jesus. 

What it means…
John transitions from his previous section–which he ended by mentioning the Holy Spirit, who lives in every Christian–by encouraging his readers not to accept every message they hear about Jesus without examining it first.  If someone says that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, then they’re teaching the correct message (it agrees with the message of the apostles–see 1 John 5:6).  If someone says that Jesus isn’t the Christ, or that He didn’t come in the flesh, then they’re teaching falsehood.  They have the spirit of the antichrist–they stand in opposition to Jesus.  John reassures his readers that they have overcome the false teachers, because God (specifically the Holy Spirit) is in them–and He is greater than the false teachers.  John then contrasts the false teachers with himself and the other apostles (who have by this time all died, but their message lived on in Scripture).  The false teachers are from the world, but the apostles are from God.  Those who choose to listen to the false teachers are in error.  Those who choose to listen to John and the other apostles are in the truth.

How we can apply it…
Like John’s original readers, we, too, are to examine every message we hear about Jesus before accepting it.  Just because someone has a particular title or a fancy TV show with a gold throne and wife who looks like she lost a paintball battle doesn’t mean we should automatically accept what they say about Jesus.  The criteria we’re to use is the message of the apostles–which we find in the Bible.  They were eyewitnesses to Jesus, they learned from Jesus, and they were empowered by Jesus.  Therefore, we should listen to them and use their message as a filter to everything else we hear about Jesus.

There are many different messages about Jesus that are sabotage.  They range from relatively minor error (the prosperity gospel–you can have perfect health, wealth, and relationships now.  This mistakes future promise for present reality, and can lead to disillusionment) to major errors that question the deity of Jesus, the humanity of Jesus, the reason for His death, and the nature of His resurrection (the same errors of the false teachers that John confronted in his letter). 

The only way we can discern between what is true and what is garbage is to regularly read our Bibles.  The more we read and study them, the more familiar we become with the message of the Bible; the more familiar we become with the person, character, and work of Jesus; the more able we are to discern between truth and error.

So let’s read our Bibles more regularly and more intentionally.

Follow Through

Psalm 61

I like golf.  I watch it from time-to-time.   I’m better than average (any golfer who breaks 100 regularly is better than average–and I regularly shoot in the low-to-mid 90’s), even though I only play once or twice a year.  If I had time to work on my game, I’d be better.  Alas, time and money keep me from playing more frequently.

Tiger Woods is a beast of a golfer, and he’s on a roll… again.  He hasn’t lost a tournament he’s entered in seven months.  He’s entered five tournaments this year and won all five of them.  Sports writers and sportscasters are talking crazy, saying he could win every tournament he enters this year (which is around 15).  The secret to his success is his work ethic, his workouts, and his swing–which is, by far, one of the most efficient and most beautiful to watch.

Although every aspect of a golfer’s swing (or a basketball player’s shot, or baseball player’s swing–choose your favorite sport) is important, one aspect that you never hear much about is the “follow through”–the part of the swing that happens after the player has made contact with the ball.  The follow through is extremely important because it can reveal flaws in the rest of the swing.  It can also reveal what kind of shot the player is hitting–the follow through is different if he’s playing a fade (for a right-handed player, a shot that he intentionally hooks left-to-right), a draw (a ball that he intentionally hooks right-to-left), or even a “stinger” shot (one that Tiger is famous for–an intentionally low, hard shot that has a lot of roll to it after it lands).  A player can have a decent swing all the way to the point of impact, but if the swing breaks down at the follow through, the chances are higher that he’s hit a poor shot… and that there’s something wrong with the rest of the swing.  Maybe that’s my problem…

Psalm 61 is another Psalm of David.  He refers to God as his refuge, and in the last half of this short psalm, David refers to himself in the third person as he writes about what God will do for the king.  David wraps up the psalm by writing this in Psalm 61:8,

So I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may pay my vows day by day.

What in the world does this have to do with Tiger Woods and golf swings?  Everything…

A poor follow through in a golf swing reveals that something else is probably wrong with the swing.  In our lives, when we make a promise and fail to follow through with it, it reveals that there is something wrong with our character.  David writes that, in spite of the circumstance he finds himself in, he will follow through in fulfilling the vows he has made to God, and he’ll do it day by day.  There is no “when” with David; there is only “now.”

How many times have we made a promise to someone and failed to follow through–intentionally or accidentally?  Maybe it is with our kids–we promise to take them somewhere or do something with them, and when the time comes, we fail to follow through.  It devastates them.  Maybe it is with our friends–they invite us to go out or to come over, and we say yes… and then we back out at the last minute for no other reason that we just don’t feel like going (and we make up some excuse… we lie… to get out of going).  Some people are habitual with this–they say yes to everything, but never follow through.  When we fail to follow through with our “vows”, with our promises, it shows serious flaws in our character.

As often as we do this to other people, how often do we do this to God?

How many times do we say, “Whenever _________________ (fill in the blank with some “milestone”) happens, I’ll ________________ (fill in the blank with something you intend to do for God someday).”  Here’s the problem:  whenever never comes.  We make a “vow” to God, and we don’t carry through with it.  David said that he payed his vows to God “day by day.”  He did not wait for when.  There was only now.  For us to make promises to other people and to God, but have poor follow through, reveals a serious character flaw:  selfishness.  It reveals that we would rather be comfortable than take a risk.  It reveals that we would rather be lazy than exert effort for someone else’s betterment.

In golf, when you hit a bad shot that’s headed in someone else’s direction, you yell “Fore!” to warn them. 
If we habitually fail to follow through on our promises–to God and to others–eventually, people will start to duck every time we swing.

The Stress of Not Knowing…

Psalm 60

My worst memory ever of school was the day in seventh grade when I nearly got my ass kicked.  It was the only time I ever got into a fight, and it really wasn’t a fight.  This dude pinned up against the locker for something I said.  I don’t remember what I said, but I do recall it was quite stupid to say to a dude known for his brawling prowess.  Fortunately, he only pinned me against the locker and smacked me in the head (not a punch, just a smack to get my attention).  No teachers were around, and about twenty people saw it. 

But that day wasn’t the worst of it.

The worst part was the next two weeks.  I was freaked out.  I was wary about turning every corner, because that dude may be there, waiting to beat me down.  He said a few things to me in the following days, things like, “You want some more?”  I sheepishly would say no and walk away as quickly as possible, trying not to wet myself.  It was stressful not knowing if I would make it through the day without losing a few teeth.  Fortunately, nothing else ever came of it.  By the end of the year, we were actually joking around with each other.  I think that dude’s in jail now, probably for smacking one too many people.

When things aren’t going the way you planned or hoped, it’s easy to freak out because you don’t know what the outcome will be.  You keep reassuring yourself that everything will turn out fine, but you really don’t know.  Such is the case with Psalm 60.  David (who is now king) is in the midst of a two-front war.  The Edomites (a tribe that didn’t like the Israelites very much) staged a surprise attack from the south, and David dispatched one of his top generals to go take care of the situation.  David wrote this Psalm before he knew the outcome (which was victory for him).  Throughout, David feels as if God has abandoned him and his people.  But in the end, he does express faith in God.  Look what he writes in Psalm 60:11-12,

O give us help against the adversary, for deliverance by man is in vain.  Through God we shall do valiantly, and it is He who will tread down our adversaries.

David knew that victory would only come from God.

How many times have we tried to dig ourselves out of a hole that we dug for ourselves?  Probably too many times to count.  Our pride leads us to think that we can come up with the solutions to the jams we get ourselves into.  We struggle, we wrestle, we claw, we fight, we strain… and usually we end up right where we started.  We want to make our plans and have God bless them.  He rarely works that way.  We need to learn how to find out what God is doing, and then jump on His bandwagon.

When we do, we may be surprised.   God often does not deliver like we think He should.  We’re impatient; we like taking the freeway instead of the beaten path; we want VIP treatment instead of having to “sit in the nose bleeds.”  We think God should delivers us from our stress when and how we want Him to.  It rarely happens.  God will do whatever He needs to in order to bring our character more in line with His.  Sometimes that means waiting.  Sometimes that means sweating it out.  Sometimes that means more stress.  Sometimes that means no deliverance (as we would picture deliverance) at all–and it is in those times when God’s grace is more than enough.

So, what areas of your life are you trying to “dig yourself out of a hole”?  Does it feel like God is on vacation?  Are you prepared for God to deliver you in His way and His time?  If not, the chances are high that you’re in for a time of disillusionment and stress.  If so, the chances are good that you will be stretched, winded, worn-out, and strained.  But when you look back on how God brought you out, you’ll be glad He chose that route. 

You’ll be a better person for it.  You’ll be more like Jesus.

Good Friday

Luke 23:33-34

I wanted to take a break from the Psalms for today, because it’s Good Friday–the day on our calendar that marks Jesus’ crucifixion.  The longer I’m a Christian, the more the cross means to me.  It used to be an academic fact:  it was something that happened in history, there are many facets of the meaning and results of the crucifixion, etc.  Now it means so much more.  It’s way beyond academic fact.  It’s personal.  My sin drove those nails through his hands and feet.  He suffered excruciating pain for me–they had to invent that word “excruciating” to describe the pain.  It literally means, “from the cross.”

Here’s something that hit me several years ago as I was reading through one of the four accounts of the crucifixion in the Bible–Luke’s version.  Look what he writes in Luke 23:33-34,

And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.  But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

I grew up in church.  I know the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross.  But when I examined this one, I noticed something I never did before.  Luke didn’t write, “But Jesus said…“  He wrote, “But Jesus was saying…“  English is a goofed up language.  It’s really tough to differentiate between an action in the past that happened just once, and an action in the past that happened repeatedly.  In the language Luke wrote in, Greek (the street language of his day), it was obvious to see.  So I pulled out all my big Greek books and looked up what Luke wrote.  I was blown away. 

Jesus kept saying it over and over and over.

Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.
Father, forgive them; for they don’t know what they’re doing.
Father, forgive them; they don’t know.
Father, forgive them.
Father, forgive…

As they drove that spike into his right wrist, he said it.

Father, forgive…

As they plunged that nail through his left wrist, he said it. 

Father, forgive…

As they nailed his feet to the cross, he said it. 

Father, forgive…

As they lifted him up to hang as a public spectacle, he said it. 

Father, forgive…

As they gambled away the only thing he owned, his clothes, he said it. 

Father, forgive…

Over and over and over… Father, forgive…
Maybe up to the moment he died… Father, forgive…

The cross isn’t about jewelry (who in the world walks around wearing a gold electric chair necklace?).  It isn’t about beautifully stained symbols in church buildings.  It’s about violence, blood, death, humiliation, blood, pain, suffering, blood, excruciating suffering, blood–all of which meant this:  forgiveness.

Forgive me for not going into every aspect of the cross.  Maybe next year I’ll do a week long series leading up to Good Friday.  But that’s what I’m really thinking about today.

Forgiveness.

Can I forgive like Jesus did?

I Read It in the Tabloids…

Psalm 59

Ashton Kutcher isn’t just a pretty face.  He’s frickin’ funny.  Several years ago, his show “Punk’d” was all the rage.  For those of you that are terminally unhip, Punk’d was all about playing elaborate practical jokes on celebrities.  For the most part, they were hilarious!  Justin Timberlake thought he had to pay back taxes, and saw his guitar get smashed!  Awesome!

Now Ashton has another show, “Pop Fiction.”  This time, it’s the celebrities who are punking the media (and ultimately, those of us dumb enough to believe everything we hear from the media).  So far, the media has been duped into believing that Paris Hilton has a guru (who was played by a biker) and that singer Avril Lavigne was pregnant.  It’s a brilliant concept.  And yet, a sad one, too.  We live in such a celebrity obsessed culture that we’ll believe anything the media puts out–even the supermarket tabloids.

Psalm 59 is another Psalm of David, and once again he’s being chased by his enemies (he really liked to write under pressure).  This time, he’s hiding out in his house with his new wife (who happens to be the daughter of King Saul… who wants David dead).  Look at what he writes in Psalm 59:3-4, which reads like a press release from a superstar that’s been slandered:

For behold, they have set an ambush for my life; fierce men launch an attack against me, not for my transgression nor for my sin, O Lord, for no guilt of mine, they run and set themselves against me.  Arouse Yourself to help me, and see!

In this instance, David’s enemies were his enemies only because his new father-in-law hated him.  When you look at how Saul’s mental state deteriorated at the end of his life as he constantly pursued David, it is easy to imagine the type of things he might have said about David that had no basis in fact.  But because he was king, his subordinants probably believed it.

If you’re a follower of Jesus, and you’re really living the Jesus life (not just showing up for church a few Sunday’s a month), the chances are pretty good that someone will slander you at some point.  The reason–living the Jesus life goes totally against the grain.  It goes against the grain of our culture.  It goes against the grain of Christian counter-culture.  People will question your motives.  Other believers may question your faith.  Rumors may spread, like David said, not for your transgression or sin, for no guilt of yours.

When things like this happen, we need to take a step back and see if there really is any truth to what’s being said.  It’s easy to get defensive, but it’s possible that there may be some truth to what’s been said.  Ask someone else if they see a problem in your life.  If that’s the case, there needs to be repentance.  If we evaluate our situation, and find there is no truth to the rumors, we can (as David did) look to God.  He knows our hearts.  He knows our motives.  He is our stronghold.  He shows us mercy.

So, like with the tabloids, don’t necessarily believe everything you hear…

Wednesday Extravaganza: Sabotage–Sabotage Prevention: Selflessness (9 of 13)

1 John 3:10-24

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.  For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.  Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.  Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.  We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.  But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?  Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.  We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.  Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.  This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.  The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him.  We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Background
The false teachers that John confronts in this letter lived selfish lives.  They did not sacrificially love those the Christians they were trying to deceive.  John says that people belong in one of two groups–they’re either children of God or children of the devil.  The false teachers, because of their obvious selfishness, were of the devil–their lives were much more in character with the devil than with God.  John now shows his readers how to prevent the sabotage of their faith by preventing selfishness with selflessness.

What it means…
John has just told his readers that Jesus came to destroy–to render null and void–the works of the devil.  He now says it is abundantly clear which group that people in the church belong to:  if they claim to be a Christian and practice righteousness (their character is defined by a life that reflects Jesus), then they’re a child of God.  But if they claim to be a Christian, but their lives are characterized by hatred (a lack of sacrificial love) for other Christians, then they are children of the devil.  John references the Old Testament account of Cain to illustrate his point about selfish hatred.  Cain was a child of the devil because he murdered his brother Abel.  God had told the brothers what to sacrifice–a blood sacrifice.  Abel, in faith, obeyed God and sacrificed lambs from his flock.  Cain, however, ignored God’s directions and brought and offering of fruit from his garden.  God accepted Abel’s sacrifice, but rejected Cains, and with a warning about the danger of sin.  Cain allowed this rejection to spur bitterness and hatred, which led him to slaughter his brother.  Hatred takes life.  John equates hatred with murder.  Those (specifically the false teachers) who selfishly hate their brothers, are murderers and, in John’s words, abide in death (this will be very important at the end of the book), having no eternal life in them.

Jesus, however, showed us a better way–the best way.  By giving His life for us, he showed us the antithesis to hatred–sacrificial love.  While hatred takes life, love gives life.  It isn’t just in grand ways–like dying for our faith.  It’s in giving life in small ways, like providing for those in need.  When we have the world’s goods, and provide them to those who do not have them, we’re giving life to them.  Therefore, we need to love not just with words, but with actions. 

When we love others like Jesus loved us, it assures our hearts before God.  At times, we may have times of doubt about our relationship with God.  When we love others–when we give life–it is a confidence booster.  Even when our hearts still doubt, God is greater than our doubts.  When we keep His commands and love others, we can pray with confidence and for that confidence, and God will grant it to us.  That’s God’s command to us–that we believe in Jesus as He is revealed to us in the Bible, and love each other sacrificially and selflessly.  If we do these things, we’ll be guarding our faith, and have confidence in a guaranteed future because we’ll abide in Him and He’ll abide in us through the Holy Spirit.

How we can apply it…
Applying this section boils down to this:  are we selfish or selfless?  Do we love others sacrificially and selflessly, thus giving life or do we withhold love from others (which is the same as murderous hate) and thus take life from them?  We must look for ways and opportunities to love each other and those outside the church, thus giving them life.  What are some ways you can love your family, and thus give of your life?  What are some ways you can love your church community, and thus give of your life?  What are some ways you can love those you want to introduce to Jesus, and thus give of your life as Jesus gave his life?  We must love with more than words–we must love with action.  We must love with our lives.

Video Link:  Sabotage Prevention–Selflessness

Tough Reading…

Psalm 58

This is one of those Psalms that just drops your jaw to the floor and leaves you wondering, “Did this really make it into the Bible?”  It’s another Psalm of David, and it’s right up the angry grunge rocker motif that is undeniably David’s.  With a shot of adrenaline.  And some barbaric violence.  Look at what David writes in Psalm 58:6-8 about the fate of the wicked,

O God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.  Let them flow away like water that runs off; when he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.  Let them be as a snail which melts away as it goes along, like the miscarriages of a woman which never see the sun…

Like I said… tough reading.  How should we react to this?

It must be remembered that the point of the psalm is that God is THE judge.  He will judge the wicked.  He will “sweep them away with a whirlwind.”  Check out Revelation 19, where John shows Jesus as a UFC fighter, ready to kick ass and take names, “treading out the winepress of God’s wrath.”  God will judge the wicked, and they will be swept away.

But should David have prayed this way?

It must also be remembered that David was inspired by the Holy Spirit, who served as the “editor” of what David (and the rest of the Bible authors) wrote.  This Psalm has always been recognized as part of God’s revelation.  Along with that, David was God’s anointed king.  An attack on the king was an attack on God.  Thus, David reveals the fate of the wicked who would assault the king.

Now for the really tough part:  should we pray this way?

I’ve heard arguments for both ways–that we should, that we should not.  I’ve heard preachers say that they can’t wait for God to punish wicked people.  It’s a fact that He will do so, but should we find pleasure in it?  My thoughts are this–I’m not God’s anointed king (that would be Jesus), and I’m not inspired.  So I really don’t know who to pray this about.  But I do know that Jesus told us to pray for our enemies.  Is it OK to pray for God’s justice?  Sure.  But we must also pray for the people that are wrecking shop–that, somehow, the gospel will find its way to them.  God will make things right again, and we should pray for that, but we should temper our prayers with mercy, remembering that God would love nothing more than to see the wicked repent.  The cross is proof of that.  It’s where God’s justice and justifying meet.

So, pray for justice–that war-torn areas of the world will see peace, that corruption will be purified.  But in those prayers, remember mercy–pray for the evil-doers, that they will come face-to-face with Jesus, that their sin will be revealed to them, and that God will change their hearts. 

Tough reading.  Tough praying.