Insight Sometimes Comes From Unexpected Sources

Some of the ladies from our church took a get-away trip last weekend. Along for the ride was a woman who is not a member of our congregation. She is a member of another church. During their travels, it seems they got into a rather serious and deep discussion about predestination.

The details of that discussion are not important for this article. They did a pretty good job discussing the issue, and talking about why they believe what they believe. Let's just say, the lady who traveled along with them held a view that sees God predestining individuals to be saved or lost, regardless of a person's desire to be saved. In other words, she believes if God wants to save you, then he will, even if you live a wild life and don't believe. If he doesn't want to save you, then it doesn't matter how much you believe, or how badly you want to be saved, you'll still be lost.

The insight, however, happened about something very different. This friend said to our ladies, something like this: "If you don't believe that God predestines people to saved, then you ought to be out every day talking to everyone you know about Jesus."

Wow! She got it right on the money. We might not agree with her view on predestination, but she got the point about the great commission. Why else would Jesus have given the assignment to preach the gospel to every creature? And if we believe that God has given human beings freedom to choose and the responsibility to believe or not, then why are we not more serious about giving them the opportunity to do just that? Why are we not telling more people about Jesus?

In this case, insight came to at least a few of our ladies in an unexpected way. What I heard from a couple of them says that the question posed by their friend hit a nerve. It bothered them. Why? Well because our sweet, good-hearted ladies are very much like most Christians. The "great commission" is not a driving force or motivation. It's not that they are unconcerned. It's just that they haven't realized how important it is that we sow the seed of the gospel.

There is nothing we do as Christians that is as important as sharing the gospel with others. There are a lot of ways we might minister to people, and all of those ways might be very good. Nothing is as important as the saving of lost people. Period. Nothing.

That doesn't mean everyone ought to be conducting Bible studies, though somebody should. It means that all of us can, and should, be aware that our mission is to see that people are saved. Your part in that might be as simple as inviting a friend to church, or as involved as becoming a missionary in a far-away place. The point is that both people can be a viable part of putting people into contact with Jesus Christ so that they can be saved. They still must choose, but you will have helped them face a legitimate choice.

If we really believe that individuals must choose to believe in Jesus Christ, choose to put their faith in him as Savior and Lord, then we must also believe that we have a huge responsibility to them. Yes, we ought to be telling far more people about Jesus. Every day. Every where we go. To every person we can. We are to sow seed. God will then give the increase.

100% Natural Evangelism

We just finished viewing the video series 100% Natural Evangelism by Terry Rush. I was disappointed. It was too short. Only four sessions. Personally, I think Terry should have made this series at least 2 or 3 times as long.

I will say this is hardly vintage Rush. He's calm instead of overly animated. But it's also very, very good.

The four sessions take you through Terry's own personal journey in learning how to talk to people about Jesus. It's open, honest, and revealing. I related to the vignettes about feeling inadequate and scared to death as a novice preacher. I knew exactly what he was talking about when he shared about schools bringing in the experts to talk about how to do personal evangelism, only to produce more fear and guilt because you just couldn't do it like them. I think talking about failure was terrific. The truth is there is a lot of failure, even among those who are excellent at personal evangelism.

Terry's series is a great encouragement, and I would heartily endorse the videos to others. Do not think, however, that he is going to throw a method at you, or that he's going to hand you a program to follow. You'll be very disappointed. This is a series about learning how to love people, how to trust that God is working in you and through you, and how to see your job as sowing seed, not forcing the results. You won't learn verses to teach others, you won't learn an outline to follow, or the standard personal evangelism content. You will learn that you can let the Spirit of God work in you to produce fruit, and in the fruit is the potential of new life in Christ.

I suspect that a great many who view the series will miss the point. This is not a fault in the series or the presentations. It's a fault in people who will watch the videos and just not understand. I'm of the opinion, that some may need to see these videos more than once.

If you need help knowing exactly what to teach, let me encourage you to check out my little "Real Bible Study 4 Kids." Yes, it was written to help parents teach the gospel to their children. But I believe it would be of great help to anyone. Adults can certainly adapt it to their own use, and teens would find it extremely helpful. And, if you're looking to learn what to teach another person, it would provide you with a lot of guidance.

Terry Rush's, 100% Natural Evangelism, will serve to encourage and motivate a lot of Christians to reach out to people. That's really our job. Sow some seed. God will give the increase.

Some Things Just Crack Me Up!

OK, some things crack me up! I love funny stuff, I love to laugh, and people who can see the humor in life surely enjoy it more than cranks.

My new-found friend, Matt Dabbs, has a video on his blog that I just have to borrow. As a preacher, I depend on song leaders. A good song leader is priceless! They can get people into the moment, or they can kill things deader than dead. So this little video is just plain fun.

The only thing I'm waiting for is the new game, Preacher Revolution. Please, somebody create one. Everybody could take the pulpit, wow the crowd, expound the scriptures alongside the best theologians, and show all preachers how it ought to be done. Got to be a winner!

OK, enjoy and laugh along with me.

Song Leader Revolution

Some Things Crack Me Up!

OK, some things crack me up! I love funny stuff, I love to laugh, and people who can see the humor in life surely enjoy it more than cranks.

My new-found friend, Matt Dabbs, has a video on his blog that I just have to borrow. As a preacher, I depend on song leaders. A good song leader is priceless! They can get people into the moment, or they can kill things deader than dead. So this little video is just plain fun.

The only thing I'm waiting for is the new game for preachers. Please, somebody create one. Everybody could take the pulpit, wow the crowd, expound the scriptures alongside the best theologians, and show all preachers how it ought to be done. Got to be a winner!

OK, enjoy and laugh along with me.

A Small Challenge To Men

In our summer Wednesday night men's Bible class, we studied the topic of leadership. We weren't looking at "church" leadership. We were trying to dig into the topic of leadership in general. Focusing on a list of 26 characteristics of leaders found in John MacArthur's, The Book On Leadership, one of the main things we learned is that leadership is not based on position or power. Leadership, at least in this study, came down to influence.

When a man influences others by his words, his actions, and his character, he is providing a kind of leadership that trumps possession of office or authority. That's not to say that a man in a particular office or who holds some kind of official authority cannot also lead, but it is to say that the ability to influence others is not necessarily related to those things.

From a worldly point of view, Jesus was man without position or authority. Follow me here for a moment. I know he had both from a heavenly or spiritual point of view, but he had neither as a man from Nazareth in Galilee. What he had was the ability to influence people. He did that through words and actions, backed up by his character.

You could say the same about the apostles. None had position or power. Again, understand that this is said from a worldly point of view, not a spiritual point of view. But even if you want to grant them a position of "leader" in the early church, exercising a divinely granted "authority", you still might want to consider that position and power were not the keys to success. Paul had his detractors and opponents, within the church, who recognized neither his position or authority. It still came down to the ability to establish the credentials of character, and the exercise of influence on others through words and actions.

One of the reasons this is an important topic is that men tend to run in two directions on this topic and neither achieves real leadership. One direction is that of position and power. Give a guy a position and watch him become a power broker. That happens more often than you might think. I remember years ago when we were going through a process to select elders for the congregation for whom I served as a preacher. One of the men just seemed to be a head taller, spiritually, than all the other candidates. I truly believed that he would make a good elder. But almost from the day he was appointed to that position, he became obsessed with a sense of power that ran roughshod over the church. It ultimately led to his undoing as a leader. This has happened again and again. Even among secular leaders, it is often this heavy swing toward position and power that makes a man's leadership less than it could be, or a failure altogether.

The other direction is that of abdication of leadership. A lot of men simply do not lead. They give leadership of their families to their wives. Ask them to lead in their church and you'll get a "Moses" speech about how unqualified or unable they are to do anything. Many communities suffer ill effects of social, economic, and other problems because men simply do nothing. Ever wondered about the qulity of those who run for political office? Are there no better men (or women for that matter) than the candidates running? I think there might well be, but they are hidden away.

Motivating men to lead is a tough job. It requires some leadership! Somebody must influence men to lead. Men must hear words, see actions, and be touched by the character of other men who have already stepped up to the plate and are swinging away at the job.

In an effort to be practical, we focused on one, very specific opportunity. Here's the challenge that was put to our men: on Sundays, when we meet as a church, take the responsibility to insure that every person who walks through the doors of our church building knows that they are loved, appreciated, and that our church is a "safe" place. What's behind this small challenge to our men? We want them, through words and actions, bolstered by their character, to take advantage of one simple opportunity to influence other people.

Don't think this is important? Let me ask a question. What would you think if you went to church on Sunday and a group of 20 or 25 men all spoke to you, asked about how you doing, offered to help in some way, made you feel welcomed and comfortable, and convinced you that in this church people would respect you and care for you? I'm betting it would knock your socks off. I'm betting those men and that church would have a positive, lasting influence on you.

It's a small challenge. It just might have huge results. I'm hoping our men rise to the challenge.

Start A Trend

Brethren, pray for us. – 1 Thessalonians 5:25, NASB95

In Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness, Kathryn Greene-McCreight describes her tortured journey through ten years of extreme depression and bipolar disorder. Concerning the importance of Christian fellowship while in recovery, she writes:

This is why it is so important to worship in community—to ask your brothers and sisters in Christ to pray for you … Sometimes you literally cannot make it on your own, and you need to borrow from the faith of those around you. . . . Companionship in the Lord Jesus is powerful. – Kathyrn Greene-McCreight, Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness (Brazos Press, 2006), p. 88

Kathryn Greene-McCreight said a mouthful. Sometimes you really can’t make it on your own. Sometimes you just need someone to lean on, to help you bear the load of garbage you’ve been carrying, to just listen to your pain, to cry with you, and even get mad with you. It’s not always important that the other person or persons have all the answers. At times, we might not be ready for answers, so they would fall on deaf ears anyway. Sometimes we just need the company of another human being, willing to be there for us.

I believe this is one of the powerful things about the church that often goes unnoticed until you need it. “Why do I have to go to church all the time? What’s the harm if I just show up when I want to?” That seems to be the question on the minds of many. The answer is to see that such questions betray a serious misunderstanding about church. It’s really a self-centered and selfish attitude. There is a much better reason to be an active, thriving, involved, attending member of a local church. It’s so you can help others.

I’ve said for years that if everybody takes the view that they’re only going to get involved or attend church when they need to go, or when they want to get something out of it, then it’s impossible for anybody to benefit. Only when each member understands that the primary reason for church attendance and involvement is to provide something for another person will any of us ever find what we need.

It’s the self-less, others-centered, approach that sets the stage for any or all of us to benefit when we need it the most. When you’re doing fine, go to church and let your faith and strength be a crutch for somebody who is crumpling under the burdens of life. One day, you may be in their shoes and when you need the help, that very same person just might provide what you need.

Wouldn’t church be great if everybody there took a personal responsibility to make you feel loved, worthwhile, and blessed? Wouldn’t church be great if every time you went, the whole bunch took pains to find out how you’re doing and showed a sincere interest in you as a person? You want that to happen? Great, then the next time you go to church, you do that for everybody you see. If you keep waiting for the others to start, then you’re never going to have such a church experience. Praying is a good start. Go hug some necks and find out what’s going on. Love and appreciate people. You might start a trend. Wouldn’t that be great?

This is a CrossTies Devotional article
(C) Copyright 2008, Dr. Bill Denton

Thinking About People

I've been thinking about people. Part of that concerns some specific people, and some relates to people in general. I think it's because as I get older, I get more sentimental. Even that is more hereditary than you might think. My male relatives on my mother's side of the family are notorious for edgy emotions and the ability to cry at emotionally sensitive times. I have a cousin who heads up our annual family reunion who can't get through the fun stuff of welcoming everyone and dispensing the door prizes without crying at least once. We love him for doing that. But that sentimentality is part of what makes me think about people.

I make no apologies for claiming It's A Wonderful Life as my all-time favorite movie (go ahead and click the link and watch the movie!). Then again, just about all my favorite movies and books are those about people, where characters are the life of the work. Among my favorite authors is Maeve Binchy, whose books are a tangle of characters much like real life. Read her books and you've become part of an Irish village, part of a family, friends with lovable people. Or, if you've never watched the movie, King's Row, you've missed a great movie. But I digress.

Want to know why I think It's A Wonderful Life is so great? Because the premise of the movie is that every person makes an impact on the world of which he or she is a part. George Bailey gets the opportunity to see what would have happened had he never lived. George, quite without knowing it, had made a significantly positive impact on the lives of many people. Without him, things would have been very bad indeed. He never knew, until his personal angel arrived to show him, that his life mattered at all.

Now, there are at least two basic ways to think about this premise. The most obvious is to consider the impact of one's own life on the world. What would the world have been without you? That's pretty heavy, but it's worth considering. The other way to think about this idea is not so obvious. What would your life have been without the other people in it? Yes, you impact your world, but other people impact you.

No wonder God has a habit of working in and through people. Again and again in the Bible, we're introduced to people through whom God worked to impact the world in positive ways. All you have to do is name a few and you see this truth vividly. Adam, Eve, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Mary, Paul. You get the idea. Not everybody is chosen to be a key player in some great work of God, but all of us are part of God's work. But do you have to have a starring role or do even background actors have a role to play?

If other people impact your life, then it's good not only to know that, but know that the impact might either be good or bad, positive or negative. We should want to magnify the impact of some people and minimize the impact of others. Of course, if you know that you are impacting other people, you might want to consider the kind of impact you're having.

What difference have you made in another person's life? Do you know? Do you care? Here's what I believe: you and I are here for the specific purpose of impacting the people around us. That's a great responsibility. It's also something for which to be very thankful.

(C) 2008, Dr. Bill Denton

Changes Coming in Dr. Bill's Random Thoughts

It has occurred to me that I picked a dead-on title for this blog. The key word seems to be "random!" I knew when I started that this was going to be one of those random things. I already write articles. I've got lots of irons in the fires (yes plural). But it has also occurred to me that I'm not taking advantage of the blog like I should. So, changes are coming.

First, at some point in the past, I tried posting my CrossTies articles to the blog. I thought this was duplicating things, so I stopped doing that. I wish I had not done that. Those articles are very appropriate posts. So, one change is that I will soon begin posting the new CrossTies articles to the blog.

Second, between CrossTies articles, there is ample opportunity to post different kinds of articles, some like the ones already found on this blog, and others that are in keeping with the "random" idea I started with.

Some of my blog readers may already subscribe to the CrossTies Devotional Article email list. If you do, and don't want two copies of the same article, you will have to choose which format you want to stay with. Personally, I encourage the blog over the email list. Mainly, it's because you will get more than just the CT articles. But you pick.

I think it will also be easier to promote the blog over the email list. Email lists were (and still are to some extent) the rage in the past, but it's obvious that blogging has taken over. Friends! You can help promote this blog, get us a larger readership, and make the CrossTies ministry bigger yet.

I still think it's amazing that we can communicate globally, so quickly, and with such ease. Thanks to all who take the time to read my articles, blog, and books. Be sure to post a comment when you read something that triggers a thought.

Phiddling With Pharisees

I’ve been preaching on Pharisees lately. Interesting bunch of people. Did you know they had a long, distinguished history as ardent nationalists, educators, defenders of Israel, and the moral conscience of the Jews? The Bible doesn’t pretend to give us a broad, balanced view of Pharisees. It’s almost as if the Bible writers wanted us to have to dig a bit if we want to understand more about these people.

Coming into existence sometime during the Babylonian captivity, Pharisees refused to allow the same fate as happened to the northern tribes when they were taken into Assyrian captivity. Basically, they disappeared, ceasing to be Jewish by melting into the surrounding people through intermarriage, adoption of their religions, and ultimately, there was no distinguishing features or identity by which to call them Jews. Pharisees were determined this wouldn’t happen to them.

They probably helped develop the synagogue system, which was really an educational effort to keep the Jewish people informed and aware of God’s law. They were determined students who wanted to know and to keep the law as well as possible. There is a lot to admire about Pharisees, for they stood up and led when it would have been easy to stay quiet and out of the way. If you look at the whole of their history, you might conclude that there are more favorable things than otherwise.

However, as is true with lots of people, their strengths created problems. This is one of those things that has intrigued me ever since I took some certification courses years ago in motivational and behavioral concepts. Usually we think of weaknesses as trouble spots. In other words, we expect an area of weakness to give us trouble along the way. But the truth is that our strengths can also cause problems. These are sometimes the more difficult kind of problem. We don’t see them coming, for one thing, and when they happen, we remain blind to the problem because we assume that a strength is just that – strength and not a source of problem.

Let me illustrate what I mean. Let’s suppose a man is blessed with the ability to make quick decisions. I don’t mean that he’s careless or just fires off decisions without thinking. I mean he’s blessed with the ability to quickly assess information, options, possible results, etc., and to come to speedy decisions. That is a positive ability in many areas of life including business, the military, and more. However, put that man into a situation that requires a deeper level of consideration, or that requires consultation with several others whose part in a project is greatly affected by what he decides, and you might discover that Mr. Quick Decider is now beset with problems. Or take a man who makes slower decisions, because he routinely needs to think through all possibilities. This can also be a strength, especially if he works in an area that requires examination of loads of information. Now, put this guy into a situation where quick decisions are a must. His strength becomes a source of problems. Most likely, neither man will easily see that his strength is the problem.

Pharisees fell into this trap. Their eagerness to know the law and to obey the law became an obsession for them. The very goal they set out to accomplish, however, became for them a source of trouble. They got into the “fence building” business, thinking that if they just moved the point of disobedience back a little bit, then they would insure against a violation of God’s word and will. The problem? Their fence ultimately became the law itself. One example will suffice. God had commanded that they remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. They were to work six days and rest on the seventh. God did not define “work.” Pharisees did. They reasoned something like this: God said don’t work; harvesting grain is work; therefore you can’t pick a single head of grain on the Sabbath lest you violate God’s will. Well, to be honest, that would have done it. Regardless of the definition of “work,” if you didn’t pick even one head of grain, you certainly would never violate the law by harvesting on the Sabbath. So, when the disciples of Jesus went through a field on a Sabbath day, picked heads of grain to eat because they were hungry, the Pharisees charged them with breaking God’s law (cf. Mt. 12:1-2).

This is important. The Pharisees did not say to Jesus, “Your disciples don’t practice the same traditions as we do. We don't understand why.” They said, “Your disciples do what is not lawful.” That is a huge statement, for the Pharisees could see no difference or distinction between the law and their traditional understanding. It had become one and the same.

You have to wonder if we do the same kind of things. How many of the “major” disagreements among Christians are really over reasoned conclusions and traditional practices (all honestly based on our understanding of scripture) but not the plainly expressed word of God? This is an important subject for us to consider. I doubt the Pharisees thought they could possibly be wrong on the issue of working on the Sabbath, but Jesus certainly thought so. I doubt if we think we could possibly be wrong on a host of subjects, but it is very possible that Jesus might think we are. By the way, it’s not so much that Jesus faulted the Pharisees for practicing these things themselves, but he did have a problem with them insisting that everybody else follow suit.

I went back and re-read some of Thomas Campbell’s, Declaration and Address recently. It’s a fascinating document. Proposition 6 sets forth the idea that Christians ought not insist that their inferences be bound on others. I wonder if we could have avoided a lot of divisions and disunity if we had followed that idea? Campbell didn’t mean we shouldn’t draw conclusions or make inferences. He just had a problem with you coming with your list and demanding that I agree with you or be out of fellowship, or me doing the same to you.

This is a huge area of concern. The proper place and realm of personal opinion is extremely difficult to define and deal with. Pharisees didn’t do a very good job. I suspect we don’t either. Unity, at least the way I’ve heard it promoted, seems to depend on you and me seeing things alike. Unity, at least the way I’m beginning to see it in scripture, is based more on mutual love and acceptance, even in the face of disagreements. That doesn’t mean some disagreements are not so huge they can be overlooked. It does mean that maybe we’ve put too much emphasis on disagreements that occur because of some humanly deduced issue, not because it was truly an expressed statement of God. In fact, of the divisions, fallings-out, and rejection of brothers and sisters I’m aware of, I’d say the vast majority were not over things God really, actually said. They are Pharisaical arguments over deduced conclusions and traditional practices.

I would love to not be like a Pharisees, but that’s not really true either. I want to be like a Pharisee but avoid the extremes that caused them to conflict with Jesus. Jesus never faulted them on their desire to know or obey God. He did fault them for turning their own words into God’s words, and their own rules into God’s rules. And there, we are all too much like them.

Musings On Blame

You're emphatically not at the mercy of those who push your buttons. They
don't have to control how you react; you don't have to give them the power
to determine what you think or do. You must take control of yourself and
your emotions, and learn that blaming others for your own insecurities and
fears is fruitless. -- Gary Smalley (via email from smalleyonline.com)

I am amazed at the things I understand now that I have a little age on me. I always heard that would be true, but, of course, no young man believes that could possibly be so. Years ago, I was very sure of a lot of things I'm not so sure about any more, but other things have a clarity today that wasn't possible back then.

Part of this is coming to understand myself. This will likely be fairly difficult for me to explain, for I don't really want to take the time or the space to write a book on all this, but let me say that one thing I have always tried to do is figure out "me." Figuring out everybody else is easy in comparison, after all, I can exercise all the preconceived notions, prejudices, and lazy assessment I want if we're talking about you. And I could do all that with me, but it would really be a waste, for if I truly want to understand myself, I have to be ruthlessly honest. Not easy, but so worthwhile. I highly recommend this approach to you, but I digress.

In a lot of ways, my life is no different than anybody elses. In other ways, the particulars of my life experiences are unique to me, and not one other person shares them. I've had my share of good things and bad, rewarding things and stuff that cost me plenty. I've paid my dues in a thousand ways, but with some things I'm still in debt. I have experiences that I wouldn't trade away for all the money in the world. Some others I'd pay you to take them.

I think it does every living person good to perform a self-assessment every now and then. Why are you where you are and how did you get here and why? Now, listen carefully, for if you do this the wrong way, you can quickly learn why the baseline topic of this article is "blame." Some of us can only explain ourselves in terms of blame. Of course, this only works when the result has been negative. In other words, if I am facing something hurtful, damaging, uncomfortable, unpleasant, etc., then it's easy for me to blame somebody for the way life has turned out. I can blame people as easily as anybody else. It seldom works in reverse though. I'm not in the habit of "blaming" others when things turn out just dandy.

I will tell you that it's not easy admitting to bad decisions, weak will, ignorance, misplaced trust, lack of ability, or general stupidity. Frankly, I'd rather blame somebody else. But blaming others prevents me from learning, improving, changing, overcoming, and moving on. Blame gets you stuck right where you are. Of course other people do bad things that affect us, and when they do it's their fault. Of course bad circumstances happen that none of us can control, and when those things happen, we can rightly say, "I got that black eye when the door swung shut on me before I could dodge it." It's one thing to correctly assess the situations of one's life and quite another to get stuck putting the fault elsewhere.

My doctor keeps telling me I need to lose weight. "If you would lose some weight, we could probably reduce most if not all these medicines you're on," he says. Whose fault is it that I need to lose weight? My wife's a great cook, so it's her fault. I often have to eat out, on the run, so it's the fault of the fast food places. Sometimes when I come home, I'm just tired and worn out, and I grab anything available and eat fast, so I can blame my schedule. That one's easy isn't it?

The wisdom that has arrived with age, however, forces me to stop blaming anyone, including myself, for blame isn't a very productive kind of thing. Personal responsibility, however, is quite another thing. I'm learning to be personally responsible, and I wish I'd learned it better a long time ago.

I won't bore you with all the details. Some of the things I must wrestle with are just that - boring, and you wouldn't spend time reading about them. Others might just be a tad juicy, though, you might be tempted to drool a while before gossiping to somebody else. A few selected things might actually be helpful, but if there any, I'll share them personally with those I think could benefit. Bottom line, I'm just saying that I think all of us fall prey to the "blame game" occasionally, but we need to do better.

If you're stuck on blaming others for your misfortunes, let me encourage you to develop a wiser approach to dealing with your "stuff." You can't do anything about others, but you can do everything about yourself. Here's hoping you'll join me on this wide-open adventure of self-understanding. I don't always like what I see, but when I don't I get to do something about it. I'm learning that's a far wiser and more productive way to live than the seething boil-over of blame.

The Two-Sided Coin Of Biblical Love

While there are other Greek words for "love," two stand out as forms of love that Christians must practice. One is agape/agapao and the other is philia/philadelphia/phileo (just highlighting the noun and verb construction). Like all word studies, it can get technical, and one can dig about as far as they would like into etymology, uses, shades of meaning, etc. Basically, for this discussion, it's enough for us to note the two-sided coin of biblical love.

One side is primarily a love of the mind. Agape/agapao is that love. It is a love of choice, of will, of intention. By exercising this love, one can love even when he/she doesn't "feel" like it. For this reason some have thought of agape/agapao as a "higher" kind of love. I'm not sure that is entirely true, but there is something about this kind of love that overrides and overcomes the limitations of other forms of love. This is the love that can be commanded, as Jesus did to his disciples. This is the love by which one positively engages his enemies for their good, despite the fact the enemies may be trying to destroy the person doing the loving.

The other side of the coin is the philia/philadelphia/phileo love. This love is close kinship, bonded friendship, emotional connection. It is the inclusion of the emotions that makes this love so very different from the first, and gives it the potential for limitations that are often hard to overcome. Emotions may cause us to hurt, to fear, to experience hatred, sadness, depression, and more. Emotions are often negative, not just positive, but when they are positive, they are among the strongest experiences of human life.

The problem is that we're very much like the proverbial coin. Flip a coin, let it bounce on the ground and it will come to rest with one side or the other up. The other side will be down. Human love is the same. Life flips us up, we tumble a bit, bounce around, and if we manage love at all, it is often one or the other. We struggle to balance the two kinds of love.

It is important that we love people by simply choosing to do so. At times, it is vital to exercise our will and love people despite the circumstances, the behaviors, the words, and more. This is the love that keeps marriage secure. Every husband and wife has awakened to the reality that the thrill of youthful emotion was left somewhere in the past, at least on any given day. It doesn't mean it can't be rekindled, or that those high emotions are necessarily lost forever. It means what married partners understand. Sometimes, you have to choose to love, for one or the other has lost their grip on the emotional bonds. Choosing to love is what moves us past our emotional limits. Deciding to love enables us to engage people who irritate our prejudices and our morals, and who aggravate and insult us.

It is also important for people to thrill to the highly emotional love of friendship and brotherhood. This is the love that ties us with bonds stronger than decisions or even will. When we are emotionally bonded to others, we are capable of loving with a strength, an energy, and a vitality that can shame the love of mind and will. This is the love that endures, reaches across distances and time, and links the hearts of people. Little wonder that the New Testament urges both kinds of love, for both are important to the life of God's people.

As I write this, I am forced to think of the people who fit the categories that require one kind of love or another from me. There are people who demand agape/agapao from me, for the only emotions that connect me to them are negative, not positive. Still, God would have me love even an enemy, do good to them, help them, and never do harm. That's a tall order for me when I put specific names to the test. But, there is another group, far larger, thankfully, for whom I have no trouble loving at all. These people fit the philia/philadelphia/phileo kind of love, and for me, it is exciting, positive, down-right good to love and be loved by those people.

Real discipleship takes both kind. Do not be afraid to love, with either side of the coin. Each calls for different abilities and produce different actions, but together they involve the two most important elements of a person's inner life: the head and the heart. People who love solely by the head often miss out on the sweetest experiences of all. People who live solely by the heart, also miss out on some wonderfully powerful experiences. Love with both your head and your heart.

Thoughts On Unity

Just about the time I think I've got the time to write for this blog, I prove that I don't. No more claims about being back on the blogging scene. I'll write when I have time.

I've been thinking some about unity. After all, those of us whose religious heritage rises from the American Restoration Movement have been immersed in thoughts, talk, and behaviors relating to unity. We are (were) a unity movement. At least we were a unity movement in the beginning. Somewhere along the way, unity began to slip away from us. Doctrine came to be more important. Differences and distinctions in doctrine began to identify how dislike we were from others. We narrowed our doctrinal focus. Our movement woke up one day and we were standing over here, with everybody else scattered over there, and the only way to solve anything was if all those other folks moved toward us. OK, I have greatly over-simplified some really complex issues, but you get the idea.

As many others have noted, the American Restoration Movement has produced numerous divisions, and every one of them over some point of doctrine. It appears to me that the effort to unify on the basis of common doctrine has limited possibility. It's not that doctrine is unimportant. It's that unity based on doctrine demands more than human beings seem to be able to manage. Unless, of course, everyone is willing to see everything my way, for that would solve all the problems.

I was reading from the book of Ephesians, chapter four and first few verses. Here's what it says:
1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Eph 4:1-3 (NASB)

Here's what struck me. It is definitely a passage calling us to unity, but it is not a passage that sounds like a call to rally around the doctrine flag. Instead, it's a passage that calls for a response of the heart: humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance, and love. You could call each of those doctrine, for they are surely taught in scripture, but they aren't the issues that normally carry the doctrine flag. These are heart issues, attitudes, the building blocks of emotional bonds. Here are the tools of unity.

If we would step back for a moment and think about the people with whom we feel the closest, most secure unity, I think we would immediately recognize those building blocks. I am unified with people with whom I share a mutual humility. Let one of us become haughty and overbearing and unity begins to fade. I am most unified with people with whom I am gentle and who are gentle with me. Let one of us become harsh and mean-spirited and unity begins to ebb. I am most unified with people with whom I am patient, and who are patient with me. Let one of us disallow the other our shortcomings and misunderstandings, or our lack of insight or effort, and unity dims. I am most unified with people with whom I am tolerant, and who tolerate me. Let one of us become irritated beyond reason and unity weakens. I am most unified with people I love and who love me. Love enables us to put up with a lot, and unity requires that ability. Lose love and unity is a dead hope.

Perhaps we've got it backwards. The approach of the past has been to demand doctrinal uniformity before unity could exist. Maybe we need to unify on the basis of humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance and love, and then it would be easier for us to resolve our doctrinal differences. I know this: I can have more worthwhile and productive discussions about doctrine with people with whom I enjoy a mutual spirit of humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance and love. Get rid of any one of those elements, and you've upped the difficulty of even talking about doctrinal differences. Get rid of two or more, and unity is impossible and so is doctrinal agreement.

As the Psalmist would say, "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!" (Ps 133:1).

Recognizing Traditions And Customs

Old stories can still do the job of illustrating the point. I was thinking today of the mother teaching her daughter how to bake a ham. As she prepared to cook it, she took a kitchen knife, cut off the end, then put it in the roasting pan. The little girl said, "Mama, why did you cut off the end of the ham?" The mother replied, "Because that's the way my mother taught me how to cook it, so I always cut off the end." "But why?" pressed the daughter. They decided to give grandma a call to clear up the issue. "Grandma, why do you cut off the end of the ham before you cook it?" asked the girl. Grandma said, "Oh, honey, when I first married, I didn't have a pan big enough to put the ham in, so I always cut off the end to make it fit. I guess it just became a habit."

One generation had a good reason to do what they did, and succeeding generations followed suit, but they did not have the same reasons. What for one was merely an expedient to baking a ham became for the next, "The way it's done."

I wonder if that's true when it comes to things like worship traditions, or other activities associated with "church." Whenever I have suggested that today's Christians practice things that are little more than traditions or customs, it always seems to bother some who hear it said. It's as if the idea that every single, minute thing we do isn't totally biblical is a savage heresy. Yet, the truth is that our assemblies are driven by social norms, architecture, personal likes and dislikes, and more. That does not make them good or bad, it's just a fact. Some of these things are very good, and others less so. The fact that something is a tradition or custom does not make it automatically wrong. It doesn't make it automatically right either.

I think the ability to acknowledge our traditions and customs is liberating. A lot of people seem to operate under stress and guilt because they know they can't qualify everything they do, nor the way they do it, from clear biblical teaching. If we could just acknowledge that some of our practices are traditions, it would relieve us from a defensive posture we can't support.

Let me give you an example of traditions that I believe to be moved more by social norms and architecture than by anything particularly biblical. Several years ago, my family and I were part of a congregation that met in house churches on Sunday nights. It was an absolutely great arrangement, but we discovered that we had a problem.

One Sunday evening, the fellow, whose house we met in, asked if anyone would like to take the Lord's supper. There were two or three who did. He turned to one of our ladies who was sitting in a chair in front of the stereo system, on which sat the plate with the bread and the tray with the cups of grape juice. He said, "Brenda, would you pass the plate to so-and-so?" Brenda did just that, and then repeated the action with the juice.

The next week it was all over church that we had women serving communion! My first reaction was something like, "What?!" Then it hit me. We certainly did. We had one woman who served the bread and the juice to the two or three people taking the Lord's supper. Guilty as charged.

Then I was hit again, "Wait a minute! This is a problem of architecture and social custom." At the church building, in our "official" auditorium with the table down front, behind which four to six guys would line up to pass the trays, this was viewed as a "leadership" function. Thus, we wouldn't dare to give the job to the women. But sitting around a living room, the most natural thing in the world was for the person sitting in front of the stereo to reach around behind herself, pick up the trays and pass them to those taking the supper. In fact, her action was not different at all from the way she participated every Sunday in that church auditorium. There she just didn't make the first pass. It seems to me the problem here is largely social custom and architecture that determines our practice.

I've heard people say that women don't serve the Lord's supper because it's the job of men to lead. Let's assume, for a moment, the male leadership argument is correct. Somebody still must explain how serving bread and fruit of the vine becomes something other that just that: serving. And, if it is serving, then how does it become a forbidden activity to women?

Lest you think I'm saying that we ought to put the women up in front and let them serve communion, you've missed the point at least slightly. Perhaps we shouldn't have a problem with women doing that at all. However, remember that I started all this by saying we need to acknowledge how traditions and customs determine our actions? It's not always wise nor profitable to dump traditions on the spot for different ones. Traditions and customs, by definition, do not come to be overnight. It takes time. And, one of the ways traditions change is by first recognizing exactly what we're dealing with.

If you want to continue cutting off the end of the ham before you put it into the pan to cook, you wouldn't be wrong to do so. But, neither would you be wrong to leave the end alone. It would probably be easier to change behaviors by first understanding why it was done the way it was done to start with, and then determine whether the same reasons still exist.

What Would Jesus Have Done With Her?

News programs earlier this week provided more than ample information about the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Smith had become famous, not just for her striptease act in Houston, TX but for marrying at the age of 26 and oil tycoon who was 88 or 89 years old. When he died a short time later, the court battle between Smith and the tycoon’s other relatives over millions of dollars of estate money kept the headlines hot.

I believe she had a TV show a few years ago that was supposed to be one of those “reality” programs. Her lifestyle, her weight gain and then the amazing weight loss, and the continued star-fashion media that surrounded her kept her in the news and constantly characterized her as a dizzy blonde bombshell, drug user, and sex icon.

Well, no more. She’s dead. The last news reports failed to provide solid information as to the cause. It appears there was no physical trauma to her body, which leaves questions about drug overdose, suicide, or perhaps even murder as possibilities. The public will have to wait until the investigations are over.

Why should Christians care about any of this? For one reason only. Anna Nicole Smith is today’s Samaritan woman at the well, the woman caught in the act of adultery of John 8, or any number of other biblical characters. I suspect attitudes toward Anna Nicole were the same ones held about those ancient women. “She’s immoral.” She’s a junkie.” “She’s a golddigger.” And, I’m using the kind words. I have no doubt but that those harsh, common, 4-letter kind of words were used frequently to describe her. It is understandable; after all she flaunted her sexuality, and demonstrated her immoral lifestyle for profit. Regardless of her true motivations, she lived by an ethic that few of us would want for our daughters or sisters.

We still need to ask, “What would Jesus have done with her?”

What did Jesus do with the woman at the well? What did he do with the woman in John 8, caught in the very act of adultery and legally due a death sentence? Perhaps we need to sift through all the surrounding discussions and get to two vital points that tell us what Jesus would have done with Anna Nicole Smith.

First, he never condoned the sins of either the Samaritan woman or the woman caught in adultery. Their sins were real, and their sins separated them from God, and if you’re thinking that somehow Jesus overlooked their sins, you’d be wrong. Whatever we do with Anna Nicole Smith, and thousands of people like her, we need to know that sin is wrong, and we need to acknowledge it.

But second, Jesus offered forgiveness. Without excusing sin, Jesus refused to condemn sexually immoral women. Instead, he provided a way out of sin. This is the forgotten and neglected issue. It is what Christians often allow to slip away unnoticed. I wonder if Anna Nicole Smith heard the first point, but not the second?

In one of the news clips I saw the other day, showing the now dead Smith at earlier times in her life, I noticed that she wore an interesting necklace. It was a fashionable cross. Now I don’t know why people wear crosses as jewelry. I have written before on this subject, and have said that it is surprising who wears crosses and where they wear them. It’s interesting that people would wear the symbol of Christian faith while living out a life that is anything but Christian. So, I can’t tell you what Anna Nicole Smith’s motive was for wearing that piece.

Neither do I know that she had an ounce of faith in Jesus Christ, or that she understood much, if anything, about the call of the gospel and how it changes true believers. But I do wonder if a single ray of hope in an otherwise dark life.

Personally, the whole of Smith’s life is unpleasant. I heard two talk-show hosts mention her death the other day, then one of them said, “You know what, I just don’t care.” The other replied, “I don’t either.” And that was the end of the discussion on their show. Perhaps that was best – no more mention of it, but I was sorry for their attitude. Anna Nicole Smith was a human being. Regardless of her lifestyle, her irreverent behavior, her blatant disregard for God, I know one thing about her that doesn’t get much press: she was loved by God. In fact, God loved Anna Nicole Smith so much he sent his Son to die for her.

Perhaps Smith’s death can encourage some young person to avoid drugs. Maybe her early demise can move another young person away from the whole sex business. It’s possible that her sad life will motivate another person to try a different road. Then again, maybe Anna Nicole Smith will remind Christians about who God loves, and who Jesus died for. Just maybe we’ll get the point that Jesus didn’t die for all the good guys but for sinners. He didn’t die to mock their sins, he died to forgive their sins.

We still need to ask, “What would Jesus have done with her?”

Back On The Blogging Scene

I have discovered that I am a busy guy! You would think I already knew that, but sometimes life just gets in a whirl and it takes me a while to realize just how busy I am.

Now that the excuses are out of the way, I want to say (for anyone who might care) that I am back on the blogging scene and will do my utmost to post much more frequently and on a regular schedule. Exactly what that is I do not know at the moment, but it will certainly be better than the past several months.

I also decided not to post more CrossTies Devotional Articles as blogs. No need to do that. First, it's overkill with the articles since they are readily available elsewhere, and second, it's too easy to use them instead of writing blogs as I originally intended.

I will also try to do a better job of promoting the blogs. That hasn't been done at all. So! Here we go.

Today, I want to comment on some things I've been reading in other people's blogs. I am impressed with what I'm reading. Hopefully, that is because I am rather selective in what I read (re: my earlier comment about being busy). Without naming names or blogs, let me list a few things I'm noticing.

• Writers are evidencing a serious spirituality. There is less concern with appearances, patterns, and shallow thinking. I'm reading people who are wrestling with serious subjects with deeper thinking.
• Writers are showing more concern with scripture, its meaning, and its application to modern life than to traditions and custom. Surely, this is good for it is the very thing we have always urged others to do.
• Writers are more concerned with the weighty subjects and less concerned with minor things. Again, this is one of those things we have demanded of others, but we haven't always done this ourselves. Good for those will challenge us this way.
• Writers are demonstrating an awareness that we do not exist in a vacuum, but instead, we live in communities of people. We can't stand outside the community and expect to reach the community. We must engage people where they are.

This is all positive news for people who are seriously interested in following Jesus and not just "doing church." So, thanks, guys (& gals!) for what you're doing.

CrossTies Devotional Article For June 4, 2006

The Skeleton At The Feast
By Bill Denton

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. (Ephesians 4:31, NASB95)

     Of the Seven Deadly Sins, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back—in many ways it is a feast fit for a king.
     The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.  --  Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC (Harper, 1993)

The amazing truth is that angry people eat themselves up.  Anger is an intense emotion.  It produces adrenalin, causes us to be aggressive, hostile, and ready to attack.  It may mask as a defense, but it’s often used to launch a war.  Anger can be swift to rise, but slow to abate.  Once angry, a man or woman may remain angry for years, sometimes for life.

Watch an angry person.  You’ll soon know what or who it is that makes them angry.  Buechner said, “anger is possibly the most fun.”  I’m sure that’s tongue-in-cheek, but it’s not a bad way to describe how we handle anger.  I once read another way to putting it where someone said that we treat our wounds and grievances like pets.  Whenever we can, we pull them out, pet them, show them off, caress them, and carry them with us.  Our pets are never far away, always ready to sit on our laps, roll over and do tricks, and entertain our friends.  Yes, we do all that with wounds and grievances over which we have long been angry.  It’s an odd picture, but a true one.

I’ve had a lot of people ask how they should deal with anger.  I’m sorry to say I don’t have any magic answers.  I’ve got numerous counseling books, workbooks, sermons and more on the subject of anger.  There is a lot of good information in those resources that can help.  I have found that two things serve as the foundation for whatever else a person can do to deal with anger.

1.  Time.  Real anger takes time to overcome.  I know the Bible says not to let the sun go down on your anger (Eph. 4:26).  A point not always acted on is that the sooner you start dealing with anger, the more likely it is you will do so effectively.  The worst thing a person can do with anger is allow it feed and grow.  Once alive, however, time can be a major factor in overcoming it.

2.  Decision.  People scoff at this idea, but I believe it is far more valuable than it appears.  You must decide that you are going to put away your anger and overcome it.  You might call it “repentance.”  It’s a change in the way you think about things, and that is a decision.  When you have clearly decided not to be angry, you can then effectively pursue steps to make it real.

To those who will not follow this advice, I can promise one thing.  The feast of life will end up with bones of the dead.  But the skeleton will be that of the angry man who ate himself up.

© Copyright  2006, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
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CrossTies Devotional Article for May 28, 2006

A Whole Lot Of Right Out There
By Bill Denton

So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.  (Galatians 6:10, NASB95)

     The movie Radio is based upon the true story of a high school football coach (Ed Harris) and a developmentally challenged young man, known as "Radio" (Cuba Gooding Jr.), whom he takes under his wing.
     The coach invites Radio to team practice sessions. He drives him back to his home. He invites him to school, to be a part of the class. In one scene, Radio's mother and coach Jones are seated at her kitchen table having a talk.
     Mother: "You know coach, it wasn't that long ago, I see you drive up in that truck of yours and be wonderin' why you're doin' what you're doin'. So, why are you doin' what you're doin?"
     Coach: "I figure it's the right thing to do."
     Mother: "But there's a whole lot out there that's right. Don't mean we always do it."
          Radio (Touchstone Pictures, 2003), directed by Michael Tollin

Yes, there is certainly a “whole lot out there that’s right,” that we’re not doing.  This is a side of sin that goes unnoticed by most of us.  Usually we think of sin as something that we do that is wrong.  But sin is also something that is right that we do not do.  People often pride themselves on how much wrong-doing they avoid.  That same person may also be avoiding a great deal of right-doing.

We should be thankful for all the right-doing that happens.  I can tell you when someone treats me “right” it does not go unnoticed.  I know it when someone has been kind to me, or when they have been good to me.  You probably recognize those things, too.  I am glad that so many people have been moved to do something good with their lives, to leave a positive legacy, to make a mark of some kind that blesses or benefits others.  Just think of all the ways that people have been helped because someone wanted to do something good.  Wouldn’t this be a sad world without those good things?

This is one of the distinctive characteristics of Christianity.  I don’t mean that people of other religions or philosophies never do any good, but I am saying that for Christians, it is part of our basic belief that we do good to others, irregardless of who those others are, or whether they are deserving of our good treatment.  We may struggle with that idea, and we certainly may not always live up to it, but the fact remains that the generous, benevolent, gracious God we follow has implanted in us attributes that the world in general does not practice.

The Bible says that God sends the sunshine and rain on both the just and unjust.  In other words, while it is true that eventually He will judge and punish evil people, it is equally true that during their lifetime, God will also be good to them and us.  It’s hard to be wrong and do right.  Despite the fact that we don’t always do what’s right, do as much as you can, whenever you can.

© Copyright  2006, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
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CrossTies Devotional Article For May 21, 2006

A Church For Unbelievers
By Bill Denton

Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.
     (Proverbs 25:19, NASB95)

     The San Jose Mercury News once reported  the following item:
James Kelley of Washington, D.C., is one of a small group at his local church who are enthusiastic Episcopalians, but who do not believe in God. Said Kelley, "We all love the incense, the stained-glass windows, the organ music, the vestments and all of that. It's drama. It's aesthetics. It's the ritual. That's neat stuff. I don't want to give all that up just because I don't believe in God."   --  Derek Helt, "Go With the Flow," SermonNotes.com

One of the most popular forms of ‘church membership’ is identified by the term “adherents.”  It’s a word used to refer to people who attend, but don’t belong.  In collecting church statistics, it is often included as a separate category of attendance.  In other words, a church would record that it had a total attendance of, say, 100.  Of that number 50 were members, 25 were visitors, and 25 were “adherents.”  Depending on how it’s used, that number might include unbaptized children, spouses of members who attend regularly, and others who attend regularly, but who are not recognized as full members of a congregation.  There are lots of reasons for people choosing to belong to this category, and most are beyond the point of this article.

However, I wonder if the problem identified in the illustration above is more frequent than we might think.  It surprises me that someone would love the ceremony, the aesthetics, and the trappings of “religion” but not subscribe to the religion itself.  At least it surprises me that people would reject belief in God, but be drawn to the things that are designed to draw people to Him.

I must confess, however, that over the years I have known quite a number of people who behaved in a similar fashion.  They attended church services frequently.  They took part in activities, enjoyed singing of songs, and somehow found comfort and encouragement from the whole of the worship experience.  But, they were not believers.

There is a surprising disconnect between what people enjoy as a religious experience, and what people believe.  The one does not necessarily produce the other.  Though surprising, it does help explain why there seems to be so much practical uninvolvement in the real teachings of the Christian faith.

A deep, serious look at the teachings of Christ, and the inspired writers of the New Testament, for example, is not necessarily what church attenders are after.  Too often, attenders are after an enjoyable experience that feeds their need for art, beauty, symmetry, drama, etc., but they are not ready to subscribe to the life-changing beliefs that produce those things.  It’s the man who likes preaching, but not sermons.  Unbelievers remain bereft of the real benefits of faith, without confidence in time of trouble.  Make sure you are after the substance, not just the symbolism.


© Copyright  2006, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
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CrossTies Devotional Article For May 14, 2006

There Is More Grace Than There Is Sin
By Bill Denton

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.  ( 1 Timothy 1:12-14, NASB95)

There is more grace in God's heart than there is sin in your past.
     Erwin Lutzer

How do you make up for things you do to hurt others, for words that bring pain and anguish, or for actions that betray the presence of evil in your heart?  If your conscience breaks through the hard shell you use to encase your heart, and you feel the grip of guilt on your soul, what do you do to absolve yourself of your sins?  You see, these are the misguided efforts of people who have missed the power of good news in Jesus Christ.  We keep trying to fix things, repair the wrongs done, and get ourselves out of trouble, and we keep wagging around a burden we can’t carry.

Don’t misunderstand.  Surely, it is good to repent of sins, to apologize for saying harsh words, and to make amends where possible.  But the truth is that none of these things erase the wrong done.  We fool only ourselves if we think we can undo our sins.

Others recognize the weight of their sins.  Their guilt is unbearable.  Once they realize the sins of their lives, they are crushed by guilt to the point that they can give up on life itself, and certainly they give up on relationships with people they have harmed.  They go through life with a soul-burden that could crush an elephant, suffocating under the weight of the burden.

This is why the message of Jesus is called “good news.”  It is why the term “grace” is applied so often to God’s actions on our behalf.  The fact is that you can’t do a thing about your sins beyond being sorry, and apologizing.  You can’t relieve the guilt, remove the burden, or change the consequences.  God can, and it is grace that makes it believable.

Sinners are an unworthy lot.  That’s an easy admission if we’re talking about all those other sinners, but it’s no less true when talking about ourselves.  People who have sinned don’t deserve anything good.  They only deserve to be judged, found guilty, and punished for their wrongs.  God sees a completely different way to deal with sinners.

There is ample grace in God’s heart.  Amazing as it sounds, there is no person so bad that God will not save them, if they will but believe in Jesus, and turn to him to find forgiveness.  But let‘s talk about you for a moment.  Do you know about God’s grace?  Are you aware that you can be forgiven?  Do you know about a cleansed heart and conscience and a new life?  Are you convinced that you’re beyond help?  Perhaps you need to know that there is more grace than there is sin.

© Copyright  2006, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
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CrossTies Devotional Article For April 30, 2006

The Hard Job Of Self-Examination
By Bill Denton

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
          (Matthew 7:1-2 , NASB95)

They who are conscious of their own sins have no eyes for the sins of their neighbors.
     —Abbot Moses (10th century) "The Wisdom of the Desert," Men of Integrity
                (September/October 2004)

Self-examination is always harder than examining other people.  It’s just a fact.  Perhaps it is because identifying a fault or problem in another person is no threat to self.  But turn that around and find your own faults and problems and you’ll discover that it hurts.

Self-examination requires a strong stomach.  Honest self-examination almost always throws a spotlight on things we’d rather not have to admit, or have others know about.  We’d rather point a finger at the other guy and beg, “What about him?”

Self-examination also requires that we be reasonable about what we discover.  It’s possible for a person to judge oneself too harshly, and thus lose the benefit of the exercise.  What I mean is that some people engage in self-examination, find some problems or issues that need some work, but instead of attacking the problems they decide they are worthless human beings.  That is totally discouraging, so they throw in the towel and quit.  They may even abandon their faith in God because they judge themselves such abject failures.  That is not where self-examination should lead us.

The real goal of self-examination is to help us make a legitimate assessment about ourselves so that we can determine how well we’re managing to practice God’s will for our lives.  If self-examination reveals that we’re doing well, we should give thanks to God and ask his help to remain on the right track.  If we’re not doing well, it’s not a time for over-reacting.  It’s time to be honest with what we find and seek God’s solutions and direction.

Nobody likes self-examination, at least nobody I know.  Few, if any of us, like to face things that are painful and damaging, especially when we’re the ones who cause those painful, damaging things to exist.  But sometimes we must take a look at what we’re producing in our lives.  Without making extraordinary claims, is the product good or bad, positive or negative, helpful or hurtful?  Is it really consistent with God’s will or different from it?  Can you go to the Bible and say, “Here’s how I know I’m on the right track or wrong track”?

If you manage self-examination correctly, you’ll have less time and inclination to point out the faults of others.  Most of your time will be spent on yourself.  And if you’re honest, you’ll discover your own problems equal, if not exceed, those of others.  That alone will make you better.


© Copyright  2006, Dr. Bill DentonAll Rights Reserved.Articles may not be reprinted in any "for profit" publication without further permission by the author. Articles may be freely distributed via e-mail, reprinted in church bulletins or in other non-profit publications without further permission. Please keep this copyright and Web Site information intact with copied articles. Articles are sent originally to subscribers only. You may have received a forwarded or reprinted copy.   http://www.crossties.org
 
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