It's not a tumor!

Sin is not a solid thing.  It is not a mass to be identified and diagnosed and then carefully extracted.  We can't place it in a jar of alcohol like a tumor and point to it and say, "This is what almost killed me!  But I got it!"  Sin is not a cancer that you can get, irradiating and starving it until it submits to you.  No Sin is present in our very flesh.  It is invasive and inextricable from our flesh.  We don't work on Sin, no we must kill it, by killing the very flesh in which it lives.  This sounds impossible harsh...and it is.  We cannot submit parts of ourselves to God and hope to be cured.  We must submit all of ourselves.  We say to God, "This is what I will do for you, just rid me of this plague!"  What we must say, with sincerity is "Jesus, I can do nothing, I surrender, please do with me what you will.  Cure me and make me new, not for my comfort, but for your glory."

Romans 
8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a]free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

In Christ we are surrendered and made new.  In the symbolism of baptism we have the old creature being covered in water, buried with Christ, to rise out of the water as a new creation in Christ.  Total submersion, total submission is necessary.  

2 Corinthians 5

15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!

As with almost every thing that is hard, our temptation is to stop short.  We recognize sin and don't want it.  Yet we find a way to blame God for it's existence, either in us or in the world.  We say things like, "I sin because I feel unloved...and that's God's fault, not mine."  Makes sense, right, he is in the power position.  He made me this way!  I don't want to be sinful!  This state of mind becomes an impossible stumbling block.  It's true, we do feel unloved.  And because of that we seek out something to fill that void.  We make the false assumption that if we feel unloved, then we must be unloved.  That is not God's nature, though.  His love is perfect and unending.  Until we can surrender to him, we will always carry the seed of doubt.  It's an all or nothing deal.  It is sinful to want the help of Christ, without wanting Christ himself.  But we do this all the time, begging for his mercy and guidance and healing and blessing, but failing to yearn for Christ himself.

A couple months ago, my 6 year old daughter was praying with my wife.  She was making all sorts of demands of God, all the things she wanted.  My wife lovingly stopped her and informed my dear daughter that "God is not a Genie, who just grants you everything you want, whenever you want."  When they resumed prayer, my clever sinful daughter then asked God for a Genie.  We know we need love, grace and healing, yet we don't know our part in receiving it.

Sin's claws remain in our flesh, even in apparent victory over it.  When the symptomatic sins are removed, successfully cut off from the body, a deeper more insidious sin appears in it's place.  And that sin is Pride.  If I struggle with perfectionism (or any ism) and I come to understand that it is a sin, I may still remain secretly proud of it.  It's as if being attractive were a sin and we decided to cover our face out of duty.  Underneath nothing has changed, we would still know that we are beautiful.  In secret we would still gaze into the mirror to make sure, never fully dealing with the problem.  I say my perfectionism is a function of trying to please God, an attempt to earn his Love.  This is probably true, but it's not all the way to the Cross true.  If we are all the way convicted of our sin, we know it can only mean one thing: we have rejected Christ from his rightful Throne and placed ourselves there.  We allow ourselves to think that our perfectionism, or control, or manipulations or our lust is about our weaknesses and attempts to deal with our feelings of unloved-ness.  However, the scary root  of this is that what we are actually saying is "Jesus, you are not enough.  Savior, you are have fallen short.  Lord, you are a disappointment.  Almighty, I want your help, but I don't want you."  If you've ever loved Jesus or anyone, this should be a crushing realization.  It should sicken us and cause us to fall to our knees and beg for mercy.  "Jesus I have sinned against you!  Save me, save me, save me!  I give you everything, I surrender all!"  The conviction of this core sin should yield in us a desperate, urgent repentance.  Don't stop short and settle for the process of repentance, like it is some training regimen to be mastered.  Instead, run like and untrained fool, giving everything only to collapse at the finish.  Save nothing for the present and save nothing for yourself.  Make sure you have spent all your personal resources so that you are dependant solely on Christ himself.  

Hebrews 12
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.


Don't hid your light under a basket, don't save anything for yourself, don't hide your face, don't set your tumor in a jar and marvel at all you've overcome.  Your Sin and your past may be relevant in your story, but don't let it be THE story.  Don't make a scrapbook of who you used to be as your only witness to Jesus Christ.  Let your current bold preaching of the Gospel in your current life be your testimony.  Yes, he has done amazing things in you and me, but that is only an outworking of the glorious and amazing things his Love and Grace are. 

Matthew 5
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

C.S. Lewis: Theology!

“Theology!” said Mr. Straik with profound contempt. “It’s not theology I’m talking about, young man, but the Lord Jesus. Theology is talk – eyewash – a smokescreen – a game for rich men. It wasn’t in lecture rooms I found the Lord Jesus. It was in the coal pits, and beside the coffin of my daughter. If they think that Theology is a sort of cotton wool which will keep them safe in the great and terrible day, they’ll find their mistake. For, mark my words, this thing is going to happen. The kingdom is going to arrive: in this world: in this country….”
That Hideous Strength, C.S. Lewis

Political Jesus

A Liberal minded person has issues with Christianity because of the exclusive nature of Christ himself.  Christians seem intolerant.

A Conservative minded person has issues with Christianity because of the passivity of Grace.  Christians seem too tolerant.

A Liberal Christian has issues with Conservative Christians because they are legalistic, loving the idea of morality more than people themselves.

A Conservative Christian has issues with Liberal Christians because they denigrate the rules for the sake of accepting all people.

Conservative: Laws over People.  Liberal: People over the Law.  Each position strives to stake it's claim on the Truth, on the side of being right.  There are willing enemies opposing them, making the exact same efforts.  Each of us tries to climb to the top position of in the pile of humanity.  

Liberals, Conservative, believers and atheists all use the image, teachings and words of Christ to venerate their own position.  The tolerant of all, claim Jesus was tolerant of all.  The persecutors of all, claim Jesus persecuted all.  Non-believers throw the ridiculousness of the Word as proof against God.  Believers misuse their good standing in Christ to Judge all others. Here is the reality though:  On one side you have Jesus Christ and On the other side, you have everyone else.  One is right, one is perfect, one is worthy.  One is the True Living God and everything else is his creation.  This includes the pile of humanity, as they clamor and claw to put themselves on top of the pile.  Jesus is perfect, everything else falls short, this is the only way anything makes sense.  The beauty of it all is that Jesus didn't separate himself from the pile.  No, instead he dove in and he made his way to the bottom, only to be killed.  After three days he appeared glorified and returned to his righteous place, yet a way has been made.  Because he died, he gave us his spirit and put those of us who believe to work within the pile: from the bottom up restoring his beautiful creation.  

On one side we have all of humanity.  On the other we have Jesus.  Someday, we will all get to be with him on the side of the righteous, not by our deeds, but by our simple choice to proclaim him Lord of All.  

Let's end with a classic, "For God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, so that whosoever believeth in him, shall not perish but have everlasting life."  John 3:16  I didn't even need to look that one up!

It's Evolution Baby!

I'm not arguing about Evolution, for or against.  in fact I don't know that I am concerned either way.  What concerns me is that religious folks, believers is what I would call myself, seem to catch a lot of grief for believing.  Well, we all believe in something. All of our worlds are shaped by something, I think it's best just to admit that up front.  Some folks take great leaps into science and evolution and accept things as they are told without really questioning anything.  We tend to seek out the things that confirm what we already want to believe, the things we NEED to be true, even if they are not.  The religious do it, and the irreligious as well.  God gave us a great mind and an insatiable curiosity.  Let us not stop short in exploring all we can.  When I was 17 and questioning all things, my Dad said to me "Son, make sure you are really seeking the Truth, and it will find you."  Those words clung to me as I rejected the Faith of my childhood and ventured out into the unknown.  I rarely heeded them, constructing a world view that was ME centered and very comfortable...but eventually they caught up to me (15 years later).  

I now feel secure enough in Christ to let my curiosity have some freedom.  I think there are times when restraint and moderation are appropriate.  We give the world to a child bit by bit, not all at once.  As a new Christian I was not able to engage the world fully, wielding my shaky theology like a toddler with a sword*. (*Toddlers should not have swords)  I am increasingly comfortable with my doubts about everything.  I am increasingly secure in my insecurity.  Faith it seems is not what I once thought it would be, a rigid fortress where ideas bashed themselves against the unforgiving and impenetrable wall. I thought a surrender to Jesus meant a surrender of my mind.  It can be that for some, a place to hide.  Faith, in practice though has meant an unshackling for my brain.  A secure tether, not binding me in place, but allowing me to make great leaps, like a skilled climber attached to the mountain he is scaling.  I hope that is true.  I pray that it is wisdom I seek and not diversion.  In any case, lately I have been seeking to understand evolution on evolutions terms.

Faith means that I can't help but see God's hand in all of creation.  However, I can still understand and enter into a concept on it's scientific terms, in fact I must.  In describing evolution, here is what I keep running into: as concepts are being explained, great leaps of knowledge and Faith are glossed over with the the recurring phrase "and over time".  This phrase presents a real problem and I find it very unsatisfying.  It's the "Yada, Yada, Yada" from Seinfeld.  It ignores the important How and Why and yet pretends to resolve.  I know that there were once dinosaurs.  I know there are currently birds with feathers.  "And over time" is not a significant explanation of how one became the other.  A video here trying to explain feathers becomes "this dinosaur had coarse wiry feathers that eventually branched out and over time became feathers.  And that animal may have been aided through accidental physics and over time we got flight and birds."  This is a remarkable leap. We have a before and we have an after, but the in between is still unknown.  Our beliefs, on both sides of belief itself shapes our desired outcome.  When presented with the miraculous, the believer say "God", and the skeptic says "And over time".  

The unseen forces of an almighty creator are hard to accept.  It takes Faith to take what you have observed and experienced in the world and attribute it to him.  The existence of God isn't unreasonable.  I have found it to be perfectly reasonable, not easy, but certainly reasonable.  It seems to me though that we accept concepts of "And over time" as scientific explanations instead of leaps of Faith.  We know so very little, so very little.  And I admit that in this post I haven't done more than make leaps myself.  I have resolved nothing.  But I do believe that the pursuit of knowledge comes from a desire to know God.  Socrates (attributed) said that true wisdom comes from admitting that you know nothing.  That seems like a good start.  In Proverbs 9:10 we have an even better start: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.  Time after time, mankind has believed that they were on the verge of discovering all they needed to know to answer all their heart and head burning questions.  Time after time, as discovery has peeled away layers we have not found a core of knowledge but more and more layers, more and more questions.  It's quite lovely.  The word Atom comes from the Greek, meaning indivisible.  We once thought that the Atom was the smallest we could go.  That of course is not true and each time we increase or ability to magnify, we find more and more sub-atomic worlds.  The same thing happens when we look into our telescopes.  

Admitting that there is Wisdom that is above you and your understanding is entirely sound and there is plenty of evidence to bare it.  
Admitting that this universe and this Earth is a miracle is also very sound. 
            Short Video:  Does Science argue for or against God?
Admitting that this miracle must have had a Creator is completely logical. 
Admitting that this Creator desires to save you, admitting that you need a savior, well that is very hard indeed.  This last step is not something to be resolved in the head, but through your eyes, into your ears and eyes and within the depths of your heart.  Your knowledge can only take you so far, and that too is very hard to accept.  For while Knowledge puffs up, it is Love that builds up.

1 Corinthians 8
We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.[a]

Malcom Muggeridge: 20th Century Man

. . . it has become abundantly clear in the second half of the twentieth century that Western Man has decided to abolish himself.

Having wearied of the struggle to be himself, he has created

his own boredom out of his own affluence,

his own impotence out of his own erotomania,

his own vulnerability out of his own strength;

himself blowing the trumpet that brings the walls of his own city tumbling down, and, in a process of auto-genocide, convincing himself that he is too numerous, and labouring accordingly with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer in order to be an easier prey for his enemies;

until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keels over a weary, battered old brontosaurus and becomes extinct.