Driving and spiritual growth (or the lack thereof)

I am convinced that there is no more effective and readily available test of our spiritual maturity than driving.  Unfortunately, it is a test that I too often fail. 
In the perfect providence of God, at this point in my life I am doing more driving than I would like.  Yesterday it was a 10 hour plus round trip to go back to Illinois and take care of some things there before turning around and coming back to MI.  While I am driving, there are many things that I truly enjoy.  These include:
     - the scenery in MI - a constant reminder of the creativity and goodness of our God.
     - the scenery in IL - a constant reminder of the provision of God (seemingly endless corn and soybeans - beautiful in its own way)
     - the time to pray
     - the time to reflect and plan
     - the tim. . .that guy just cut me off.
And so begins the test of my spiritual maturity.  I would love to tell you that I calmly forgave and prayed for him.  I would love to tell you that I did not honk my horn with a great deal of vigor for being inconvenienced for approximately 2.5 seconds.  I would love to tell you that I did not give him a dirty look.  But alas, if I were to tell you these things I would be lying.
It amazes me that I can go from "spiritually in tune" to anger in 2.5 seconds of being inconvenienced.  A reminder of the fact that apart from the grace of God I would be lost in my sin!  In that moment what occurred was actually a complex and very intricate series of events that can be summarized like this:  I stopped thinking about God and only thought about me.  MY life was put in danger for 2.5 seconds.  MY plans were delayed by 2.5 seconds.  MY car was almost damaged.  MY emotional state was changed.  And once I was thinking about me, it was hard to go back to thinking about God.  And therein lies the difficulty of sin. 
In Genesis 3 we are told that Eve eats the fruit because she thought that it was good for food, a delight to the eyes and it was desirable to make her wise.  Millennia later John writes that we are not to love the world, which consists of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.  It is amazing to me that these three things correlate so well to what Eve saw.  The root of all sin is taking our thoughts off of what God commands and instead thinking of ourselves.  Which is why I think the Scriptures are so clear to the grow in Christ we must die to self. 

     "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."  Galatians 2:20 (NASB)

Driving reminded me that I am still in the process of dying to self.  And unfortunately for us, self can reappear in 2.5 seconds.  God help us to die to ourselves so that Christ can be seen in us.  To God be the glory.

King Tut and Jesus

My family and I were able to go and see the King Tut exhibit yesterday at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.   This was an exciting trip for us as my children have been studying some of ancient Egyptian culture and life in school.  The exhibit itself was magnificent and wonderfully and elaborately created.  I was in awe from start to finish. One of the things that stood out to me the most was the care with which the people preserved the body of King Tut.  The resources that were poured into making sure that he had an easy transition in the afterlife.  (side note:  I am not at all condoning Egyptian mythology)   Amongst all of the gold and all of the detail and all of the symbolism, one thing stood out to me.  When Howard Carter discovered the tomb when they got to the shrine that contained the body, it actually was 4 shrines, each one contained inside the others.  The closer you got to the body, the more ornate and precious and valuable the decorations and detail.  The Egyptians spent a lot of time and money to make sure that their Pharaoh (whom they considered to be deity) was well recognized, even in the afterlife.  And then you see it.  A replica of the open sarcophagus of King Tut.  Detailed, designed by people who were looking directly at the real thing.  You can see the outline of his finger bones - you can see the age on the wrappings and you know he is dead and has been so for over 3000 years.
Which brings me to Jesus.  Jesus died around 2000 years ago.  He was buried too - cared for and preserved, though not nearly with the intricacy and valuables that the pharaoh was.  And yet, there is no exhibit proclaiming the glories of the King of Kings.  No intricate vaults. No gold.  No museums.  And I for one am extraordinarily glad for this.  "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said."  (Matthew 28:6a, NASB)  Our Savior conquered death.  He is not buried any longer.  He is no longer adorned in grave clothes.  He is ALIVE. He is at work in my life.  I pray He is at work in yours.  There was so much value given to a dead ruler from a bygone era.  How much more value should we place on a ruler who has ruled from the beginning of time and will continue to rule until time's end?  Only the value that we can offer Him is not found in silver or gold, but in a life lived sacrificially for Him and for His glory (Romans 12:1-2).  May the museum that people see in my life be a constant testimony to the Risen Savior.  May they see His rule and reign evident in the past of my life, but also in the present.  And may every moment of my future point to the value that I give to a Savior who gave so much for me.  Soli Deo Gloria.

Children of God

"See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are."  1 John 3:1 (NASB)

I was preaching on this text Sunday and have reflected on it since and am absolutely floored by the truth in this statement.  When we properly understand who we are apart from Christ, this truth becomes even more overwhelming.  You see, I was not a good person walking a path toward God.  I was an enemy of God - under the wrath of God - far from God.  And it was in this condition of alienation that God chose to change me and make me like His Son.  We are children of God solely because God called us to be so. 
The truth of our adoption goes so much farther though as we take a look through the rest of the Bible.  One of my favorite passages is found in Romans 8.

"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him."  Romans 8:16-17 (NASB)

Here Paul reminds us that we are indeed children of God and that the Holy Spirit present in our life is the testimony of this truth, but goes farther and adds that because we are children of God, we are heirs with Christ.  This means that we inherit everything that Christ inherits.  And Christ gets everything.  God does not just make us children - he makes us children who are co-heirs with Christ.  Can you imagine an American revolutionary soldier taking a British soldier and adopting him as his own child and even giving him equal shares of the inheritance?  An Allied soldier adopting a Nazi?  This is what God did for you and for me. 
But there is an even cooler part.  Are you ready?  The trials that we go through - they are a reminder that we are God's adopted children who are receiving the inheritance of Christ.  Notice the last part of Romans 8:17. We suffer with Christ because that is part of what Christ receives - temporary suffering for eternal reward.   I think that is a pretty good trade.  And, it means that my cancer = a reminder of the adoption into God's family.  My temporary "homelessness" = a reminder of my adoption into God's family.  But, it is only good news for those who are fellow heirs with Christ.  If you have never placed your faith and trust in Christ you cannot share my hope. 
I am truly blessed to be a child of God.  Are you?

Introduction

People often view church as something to do - a place that you go once (maybe twice) a week and fulfill a sense of religious obligation.  Church is so much more than something to do - it is something to be - a group of people actively loving one another and encouraging one another to be more like Christ.  This is my vision for White Lake Baptist Church. 
In our small little corner of the world I want to be able to dialogue with our people and our community in a way that encourages all of us to grow toward Christ and in Christ together.  That is my hope for this blog - that it would simply be a place where we can grow together.  Each day it seems that God is teaching me something new.  Sometimes these lessons are painful - sometimes they are joyous.  If God would choose to allow my lessons to encourage others, I would welcome the opportunity.

To God alone be the glory.