April 2012 – LOVE | ACCEPT

Psalm 116 ~ He Saved Me

When the prolific duo of Ashford and Simpson penned these words, were they thinking beyond the human realm?

Ain’t no mountain high enough.

Ain’t no valley low enough.

Ain’t no river wide enough, to keep me from getting’ to you.

The psalmist portrays this distance from the Savior in terms of life and death, painting mortality as the last moment in which He can reach out and pluck His creations for the abyss.

The cords of death entangle me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow.

Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!” (Ps 116:3-4)

Such is extent of the Savior’s reach that not even the ebbing moments of life can rebuff Him. We cry out “Lord, save me!” and redemption extends life forever. Restoration is a now and still to come reality. Whatever remains of our time in this world can be in peace and assurance;

Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. (v7)

A thankful heart taken captive by the Spirit guides our gratitude-filled steps, all of these remaining days;

I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord—in your midst Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord. (vv 17-19)

Grace and peace to you…

image h dragon

The Justice of God in the Cross

In expressing his moral shock at God’s decision to destroy the good with the bad in Sodom, Abraham voiced what many believers have wanted to yell throughout history, “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Indeed! The slaughter of the righteous and the wicked and the continued prospering of the wicked so many centuries later perplexes us. Some, believers and non, are tempted to the point of labeling God unjust based on what they see around them.

There are numerous warnings in the Bible that turn people away succumbing to this belief. Over and over, the Holy Spirit inspires the authors to record prohibitions against belief that the current reign of the unjust will continue forever. God will mete out justice at an appointed day in the future; “..do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” (Rom 2:3b-4; see also Acts 17:30-31, 2 Pet 3:3-9)

The more observant will note the theodicy evident in the Cross. The clear language Paul uses in Romans 3:21 – 26 forms the foundation of this understanding. God present him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies the man who has faith in justice.

Divine Justice is on full display. God judges sin, requiring the ultimate penalty in death. He also extends mercy to sinners, paying this ultimate price himself. As Stott says “For now, as a result of the propitiatory death of his Son, God can be “just and the justifier” of those who believe in him.” His justice is defended against the limited understanding of man and the questions that pour forth from it.

Grace and peace to you..

image insideMyShell

Atheism is a Form of Cognitive Dysfunction

A Shot of Faith {To the Head} by Mitch Stokes PhD.

Atheism is a Form of Cognitive Dysfunction

Dr. Stokes includes the section heading above in the closing chapters of this excellent book, not in a provocative sense or to garner cheap attention, but to emphasize the strength of the logical and philosophical arguments in favor of God and Christianity. While the modern Atheists have descended to conclusion that anyone who proclaims a belief in God is suffering from a mental illness at best, and a severe cognitive deficit at worst. Why, they say, one might as well believe in the The Flying Spaghetti Monster just as easily as a deity who created and maintains the world in which we live.

A Shot of Faith is not a casual read. Dr. Stokes writes at a high academic level from three perspectives: rationality, design, and absolute standards. Each theme addresses modern Atheism’s common positions that attempt to disprove God’s existence. The lead argument that he dissects is the position that Christian belief is irrational based upon the lack of evidence. Stokes does a magnificent job of not only outlining the Atheist position, but also in addressing it using the same logic and philosophical tools that they use to arrive at their conclusion. The results are devastating to the foundation of the Atheistic belief system, knocking out the foundations that undergird its fragile construction.

Stokes’ book may be intended for a wide audience but the concentration and consideration required to work through his epistemic process and to make the information your own. For the reader willing to put in the time and reflection necessary, the knowledge contained in these pages is sufficient to face down any emotional Atheist who chooses to resort to the common memes in challenging their faith in Christ. The thread that weaves through all of the pages is perhaps the most important; we need not be afraid of challenging the bellicose voices that attempt to diminish faith to myth or fairy tale.

I am grateful to Thomas Nelson who provided this book for review.

4:47

No sooner did your song begin before it stopped. Replaced by whistles, your rattling ck-ck-ck-ck-ck was silenced. Did your moment pass?

The whistlers were symphonic, each contributing their assigned tonal range to the racket. One by one, each entered the music… first bar, fourth bar, coda.

But you were alone.

The volume of your voice was more than adequate but still no reply came. The Snake continued silently passing by, Geese resting at its edge but still no sound. Who were you trying to communicate with at this early hour?

Now the quiet returns.

Individual chirps have replaced the cacophony with another hour remaining until the sun begins to crown, birthing a new day. Each camouflaged singer has its moment in the awakening, ceding the silence to the next at just the right time. Soon, the sun will heat the air and silence will return as you blend into the brown of the Idaho desert.

Until tomorrow at 4:47.

image mademoiselle lavender

The Glory of God in the Cross

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

A series of preceding posts looked at the work accomplished by the Savior on the Cross. Each focused on the salvific work and the categories of understanding that theologians have applied: propitiation, redemption, justification and reconciliation. Limiting our descriptive language to this taxonomy leaves us questioning; we see what God accomplishes on the Cross but we are deficit in hearing the complete message that He wants to communicate via this moment in history.

The first revelatory facet that we note is God’s glory revealed in the Cross. The same glory that filled the Temple in Old Testament revelation is also seen in Jesus, who dwelled among us for a little while (Jn 1:14). In addition to satisfying God’s righteousness requirements, in fulfilling His demands for justice, Jesus proclaims how the Father’s glory is seen in his humiliation and sacrifice (John 17:1). As Stott points out “the glory that radiates from the cross is that same combination of divine qualities which God revealed to Moses as mercy and justice, and which we have seen in the Word made flesh as ‘grace and truth (Ex 34:6).”

Grace and peace to you…

image claudio.ar

Psalm 115 ~ Deaf, Dumb and Blind

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. Ps 115:3-4

Despite the historical and experiential evidence that idols are powerless over our lives, humankind has continued in their manufacture throughout all of our existence. These statues are meant to assure us of a god’s presence and provide a focal point for our worship. A God who doesn’t take corporeal form requires faith to entrust, an effort that we would often prefer to avoid.

Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. (v8)

Because the idol cannot reveal himself nor communicate his attributes, we are left to invent them. Our default character matches our own. As we explore the theology of our idols we find the worship requirements malleable as the attributes adapt to our fallen nature. Low demands and a conciliatory spirit become the hallmark of the deaf, dumb and blind objects.

The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to mankind. It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who go down to the place of silence; it is we who extol the Lord, both now and forevermore. (vv 16-18)

Idols ultimately fail. The moment comes when the answers they provide no longer fulfill their intended design. We are left to confront the reality of the omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient God who can, and does, answer our prayers and petitions. Only, that is, when our eyes are pointed in the right direction.

Grace and peace to you…

image ha! Graphics and Design

Reconciling to Himself All Things

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

(Col 1:19-20)

Reconciliation is the last of four images that man has commonly used to portray the atonement of Christ. It is also the most popular as it is the most personal. Reconciliation is something we can grasp, something we can understand and apply to our lives. The key aspect of reconciliation often eludes us though.

To reconcile one to another means that there was a preexisting relationship to be breeched.

So removed from the falter in the Garden are we that more often than not forget to reflect upon the original design for relationship between God and humanity. We were created for constant communion with the Creator, the introduction of sin building the un-crossable chasm between us. As Christ became sin to atone for the intergenerational sin, He also become the bridge that renewed the possibility for the repair of the rift.

Be reconciled…

image A Roger Davies

Terra Incognita

People cannot discover new lands until they have the courage to lose sight of shore.

Many Christians will proclaim a willingness to follow the Holy Spirit wherever He leads them until the moment arrives when they actually have to take the first steps, then we hesitate. Through the years we have become expert at all manner of excuse creation, justification and reasoning away in order to limit the Spirit’s influence on our lives. Breaking out of these cages is the subject of Pastor Mark Batterson’s book Wild Goose Chase.

Most churches and the Christians therein are constrained in their faith by shackles of their own making. The Holy Spirit calls each of into ministries that are wildly beyond our comfort zone. Rather than following the Wild Goose where it leads, we put a band on His leg and tether Him so that the apogee of His flight is well within our boundaries of comfort.

Batterson encourages the reader chapter after chapter to live the adventure. We miss out on the blessing of our calling because we fear that the Spirit will take us off into uncharted territory. Addressing this risk-avoidance in the early chapters, the pastor’s word become more challenging as he approaches the final pages. Here we encounter the calamity and upheaval that we were trying so hard to diligently avoid, but, as Batterson points out, many times our calling comes in the form of troubles. The spiritually diligent Christian will learn to read these signs and interpret the next flight pattern of the Goose.

Pastor Batterson’s books are always encouraging, and Wild Goose Chase is an excellent companion to his earlier volume, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. Safety-minded Christians will avoid this book at all costs. Those Christians interested in the wild, free faith that we are called to will devour these pages and not stop until they follow the Goose into the wonderful, dangerous faith that the Lord intends for His Church.

I am grateful to Multnomah Books who provided this copy for review.

Justified

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7)

Our exploration of atonement began as a Lenten devotion moving us steadily closer to Calvary on that Friday afternoon. Leading up to this post we have examined two images—propitiation and redemption—that illustrate facets of salvation, but not the entire picture. To these we add a third, justification.

Redemption locates us in the slave market, in bondage to sin with no hope of escape. One who has the will and the means to enable our freedom pays the price to loose our shackles and to walk free. The cost, often dismissed on the 51 weeks away from Resurrection Sunday, was the blood of Christ.

Free, we are still held to account for our sin. Redemption did not enable us to avoid the consequence. That requires a judicial decision: guilty or not guilty. The concept of justification serves this purpose. It stands us before The Judge who declares us not guilty. The verdict comes vicariously, the guilt being assigned to an Innocent.

We must also be cautious to not confuse justification with amnesty. Amnesty means that we overlook guilt or innocence, it is simply put aside without rendering a verdict. The holiness of God does not provide for this option. Holiness requires that only the not guilty stand in His presence. This requires the courtroom and the gavel of God to pronounce humanity’s status. Without it we have the ability to walk free, all the while walking toward the eternal consequences of our fallen nature. The removal of guilt enables us to, at a minimum, stand in the presence of God.

Grace and peace to you…

image Tim Ellis