This blog will be a little bit early. Normally I write on Tuesdays, but next Tuesday we are going on a vacation whose main purpose is to celebrate with my parents. On June 2 of this year they will have been married for 40 years. In a culture and world that has increasingly become welcoming of the "you better make me happy" mentality that allows and encourages divorce for any reason, this kind of longevity in a marriage is to be honored and commended. And so I want to take this moment to commend my parents on many of the admirable things that have helped my own marriage last for the nearly 13 years my wife and I have been married. Here are 10 things that I have learned from my parents.
1. Your marriage will last when you build it on the foundation of God first.
2. Your marriage will last if you worry about your spouse's happiness above your own.
3. You marriage will last if you admit you are not perfect.
4. Your marriage will last if you admit your spouse is not perfect and accept him/her anyways!
5. Your marriage will last if you put your spouse before your kids.
6. Your marriage will last if you are committed to stay, even in hard times.
7. Your marriage will last if you tell your spouse you are committed to stay, even in hard times.
8. Your marriage will last if you communicate - even if you are communicating how much you dislike the other person at the moment.
9. Your marriage will last if you have accountability before other people.
10. Your marriage will last if you both work to make it last.
I think all of this could probably be summarized in a few words: God, talk, stay. No matter what. And for this example I am eternally grateful to my parents.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
The Volcano Effect - Eruption
Sin has consequences. Apart from Christ the primary consequence is death. This death involves separation from God. The problem is that often sin, like a volcano lies dormant. It seems harmless and we continue to live in close proximity to it. In fact, there is almost a sense of pride that develops because we can live in such proximity to such danger and not get burned. And then the mountain erupts. Lava flows and destroys all in its path without concern for those harmed. This is the true nature of sin. No matter how much we live with it, no matter how much control we think we have, the eruption will eventually come, and when it does it brings with it total devastation.
Are you living with a sense of proximity to sin that you have grown comfortable with? Perhaps it is the sin of pride, or the sin of lust, or the sin of ________________ (fill in your own here). Do you know the eminent danger of the sin or have you begun to trust it as harmless? Beware of the coming eruption!
Are you living with a sense of proximity to sin that you have grown comfortable with? Perhaps it is the sin of pride, or the sin of lust, or the sin of ________________ (fill in your own here). Do you know the eminent danger of the sin or have you begun to trust it as harmless? Beware of the coming eruption!
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
The Volcano Effect - Living in the Danger of Familiarity
Every time there is some kind of disaster it amazes me that there are people who had proper warning, people who knew harm was coming to them, and yet they choose to stay. I have seen this most recently related to the volcano happening on Hawaii. I have seen this during floods and typhoons and hurricanes. I have seen this during wildfires. It seems that though there is often plenty of warning, and plenty of knowledge of the devastating effects of an event, there are still people who want to "ride it out."
I think that this too is a reflection of our own hearts, particularly as it relates to sin. Even as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we tend to get comfortable and stop worrying about the dangers of the sin that we are so accustomed to. We stop thinking about its effects. We stop thinking about its harm and we think that we of all people will be ok. After all, we are natives to this area. We have weathered this storm before. But most of all, we are firmly convinced in our own minds that we cannot be affected by something because we have too much control. There is too much time left, and if things get really bad we will still have time to get out.
Unfortunately, as with the storms, sin overtakes people faster than they will think it does. It may lay dormant for a while, but eventually it will explode, and when it does, the harm you could previously outrun if you wanted to will overtake you. Or you will find that because you are so familiar you may not even want to run. You might stare into the fiery lava of sin and simply let it overtake you.
There is another way - accepting the help that Jesus offers and doing the things that he recommends- don't trust yourself! Certainly don't trust the sin. Trust no one or nothing but Jesus and flee the sin and run to Him. Perhaps you need to do this today for the first time, or perhaps as a believer you need to be reminded of the danger of familiarity with sin.
I think that this too is a reflection of our own hearts, particularly as it relates to sin. Even as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ we tend to get comfortable and stop worrying about the dangers of the sin that we are so accustomed to. We stop thinking about its effects. We stop thinking about its harm and we think that we of all people will be ok. After all, we are natives to this area. We have weathered this storm before. But most of all, we are firmly convinced in our own minds that we cannot be affected by something because we have too much control. There is too much time left, and if things get really bad we will still have time to get out.
Unfortunately, as with the storms, sin overtakes people faster than they will think it does. It may lay dormant for a while, but eventually it will explode, and when it does, the harm you could previously outrun if you wanted to will overtake you. Or you will find that because you are so familiar you may not even want to run. You might stare into the fiery lava of sin and simply let it overtake you.
There is another way - accepting the help that Jesus offers and doing the things that he recommends- don't trust yourself! Certainly don't trust the sin. Trust no one or nothing but Jesus and flee the sin and run to Him. Perhaps you need to do this today for the first time, or perhaps as a believer you need to be reminded of the danger of familiarity with sin.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
The Volcano Effect - the devastating nature of sin
I saw a video this week of lava from a recent volcano in Hawaii coming toward a car parked along the side of the road. The video was mesmerizing. It went like this. . .
This huge mass of molten ash moves toward the vehicle. It seems so harmless and almost beautiful. After all, it is not a mass of flames, just a dark mass of what looks like ash with just a hint of red underneath. It looks like you could almost walk up to it. There is a general sense of sadness as you realize the car is about to get dirty, but you are almost confident that it will not do any real damage.
Sin lies to us. It pretends that it is harmless and really does not do any damage. It pretends it is just a dark mass of harmless material that we can get as close to as possible. We almost want to because of how harmless it seems. It looks beautiful and desirable and it draws us in. And the effects of sin were evident in the video as well.
As the mass of lava moves toward the vehicle, before it even touches it, the car bursts into flame and the dormant lava suddenly springs to life and in a matter of seconds the car is a fireball that then almost as quickly is devoured by the seemingly harmless ash moving toward it. The car is gone. All that is left is the mass of ash now completely covering the car, or at least what is left of the car. The car is totally destroyed. Gone. Dead. Of no use to anyone. This is the result of sin - death. Even if you think you get away with it, you die. Apart from the work of Christ we are all dead in our sin, consumed by the fires of hell within us. Christ changes us.
So don't allow yourself to be swallowed by sin, fight it by fleeing from it and running to Jesus.
This huge mass of molten ash moves toward the vehicle. It seems so harmless and almost beautiful. After all, it is not a mass of flames, just a dark mass of what looks like ash with just a hint of red underneath. It looks like you could almost walk up to it. There is a general sense of sadness as you realize the car is about to get dirty, but you are almost confident that it will not do any real damage.
Sin lies to us. It pretends that it is harmless and really does not do any damage. It pretends it is just a dark mass of harmless material that we can get as close to as possible. We almost want to because of how harmless it seems. It looks beautiful and desirable and it draws us in. And the effects of sin were evident in the video as well.
As the mass of lava moves toward the vehicle, before it even touches it, the car bursts into flame and the dormant lava suddenly springs to life and in a matter of seconds the car is a fireball that then almost as quickly is devoured by the seemingly harmless ash moving toward it. The car is gone. All that is left is the mass of ash now completely covering the car, or at least what is left of the car. The car is totally destroyed. Gone. Dead. Of no use to anyone. This is the result of sin - death. Even if you think you get away with it, you die. Apart from the work of Christ we are all dead in our sin, consumed by the fires of hell within us. Christ changes us.
So don't allow yourself to be swallowed by sin, fight it by fleeing from it and running to Jesus.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Don't Get Comfortable
I preached on Psalm 23 this past Sunday. As I prepared for this a lot of my prayer was that God would not allow our familiarity with the psalm to create a condition where we felt as though we need not listen to the Word of God. Sometimes our view of ourselves changes (if it was evercorrect to begin with) and we lose sight of who we truly are. Some of this is caused by familiarity. When we know something, we want to move on to something new. But the most familiar psalm points out a basic truth, we are sheep that need constant attention and care.
I can imagine a sheep walking along a familiar path and saying to the shepherd, "I'm good, I don't really need your help on this path." "And while we are talking about it, you treat me to much like I am below you, I want to lead myself, so don't tell me where to go or what to do anymore. I will care for myself thank you."
We read our Bible and wait for some revelation from God but we don't read in submission to God's Word, instead we read as though we are the master's of it. And in the most familiar psalm we find the truth that we cannot read the most familiar psalm with this kind of familiarity. We cannot ignore it. We cannot skip the truth in it because we know it so well, we must to submit to the simple truth that we are sheep and need the constant care of our Shepherd. This means we are not independent. We are not self-sufficient. We are not all knowing and cannot properly care for ourselves. The sooner we place our trust completely in the Good Shepherd, the better off we will be. I am going to try and avoid being a stubborn sheep!
"Baaaaaaa" (that is sheep for "Glory be to God."
I can imagine a sheep walking along a familiar path and saying to the shepherd, "I'm good, I don't really need your help on this path." "And while we are talking about it, you treat me to much like I am below you, I want to lead myself, so don't tell me where to go or what to do anymore. I will care for myself thank you."
We read our Bible and wait for some revelation from God but we don't read in submission to God's Word, instead we read as though we are the master's of it. And in the most familiar psalm we find the truth that we cannot read the most familiar psalm with this kind of familiarity. We cannot ignore it. We cannot skip the truth in it because we know it so well, we must to submit to the simple truth that we are sheep and need the constant care of our Shepherd. This means we are not independent. We are not self-sufficient. We are not all knowing and cannot properly care for ourselves. The sooner we place our trust completely in the Good Shepherd, the better off we will be. I am going to try and avoid being a stubborn sheep!
"Baaaaaaa" (that is sheep for "Glory be to God."
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