This past Sunday we were on our way to look at an apartment when we passed a church with marquee sign that said, "May is God's Apology for January" which is just a cute saying about being happy about spring.
Maybe I am too analytical but this sign really got me thinking about what that sign said about God. My first thought was why would God apologize about January? Was January a mistake? If so, has God continued to make the same mistake every year since 45BC when January was created as a month? Or what if, like my friend Dan and my dad, you live in Florida and January is a nicer month than May, does that mean that God is apologizing for giving you a nicer month and then giving you something worse? Or what does it mean if we get record rain fall in May?
Yes I know, right now you're thinking, "Brad you thought way too much about that sign!" However, let's take it a little further. What if we took a serious look at what we as Christians credit God for saying. Does God hate some people because of the sin issue in their lives? Would God not allow anyone to go to hell because of His love? Are the death of soldiers God's judgment?
These are all statements that people have given credit to God for. The question we need to ask is, do these statements that are accredited to God match what God says in His word? In Acts 17:11 the Bible says, "Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true."
I love this passage. It tells us not to just accept what we are told is true by our pastors, teachers, priests, rabbis, or religious friends and family members, but to examine what we are taught. To study the scripture, to see if it is true. Not our thoughts, not our beliefs, our ideas, our hopes, but to examine the scriptures. Sometimes, this requires setting aside ourselves and taking up our cross and following Jesus even when we don't like what we find.
Let us be like the Bereans and be people of more noble character, studying the word of God, letting it shape our beliefs rather than letting our beliefs shape how we interpret the Bible.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
When Words Are Not Enough
Believe it or not there are times when I find myself speechless. Times when words "seem" so empty and meaningless even when you mean them with all your heart. It is at these times that I want to say something that will bring healing, comfort, encouragement, the kind of words that will take the pain away. It is at these moments that words are never enough.
Today is one of those days.
I have thought and prayed and cried as I searched for the words to bring comfort to others. Words to bring strength to others who are feeling so weak. Words that will bring hope in the midst of despair. Yet, the words do not come.
Suddenly I was reminded of a verse in scripture. The shortest of all the verses in the Bible. Just two simple words, "Jesus wept." (John 11:35) These words so profound, so deep, so moving. Jesus, the God-man, the creator and savior of the world, wept.
Sometimes, words are not enough, and it is okay. There is nothing wrong with not speaking at that moment and mourning too.
You see when Jesus wept with Mary and Martha, what everyone understood was that Jesus loved Lazarus. That was more important than any words of comfort. He loved so much that His heart broke too.
For those who are mourning the loss of a loved one, know that Jesus is mourning with you.
In Memory of Bette Haag, 10-6-63 ~ 5-14-11
Survived by her husband Allen Haag, Sons Jeremy and Erik Haag, sister Lisa Black, and countless other people who's lives were made better because they had a chance to know her.
Today is one of those days.
I have thought and prayed and cried as I searched for the words to bring comfort to others. Words to bring strength to others who are feeling so weak. Words that will bring hope in the midst of despair. Yet, the words do not come.
Suddenly I was reminded of a verse in scripture. The shortest of all the verses in the Bible. Just two simple words, "Jesus wept." (John 11:35) These words so profound, so deep, so moving. Jesus, the God-man, the creator and savior of the world, wept.
Sometimes, words are not enough, and it is okay. There is nothing wrong with not speaking at that moment and mourning too.
You see when Jesus wept with Mary and Martha, what everyone understood was that Jesus loved Lazarus. That was more important than any words of comfort. He loved so much that His heart broke too.
For those who are mourning the loss of a loved one, know that Jesus is mourning with you.
In Memory of Bette Haag, 10-6-63 ~ 5-14-11
Survived by her husband Allen Haag, Sons Jeremy and Erik Haag, sister Lisa Black, and countless other people who's lives were made better because they had a chance to know her.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Worship: The Hymnal Wars?
Warning! This blog post may (unintentionally) offend some people.
Ok, now that I have that out of the way, I want to just start out by saying, "I am a Christian - unashamed, and unrestrained, a Christian." I believe that the Bible is the word of God. I believe that Jesus is the only way for salvation and that apart from Jesus' death, burial and resurrection we are lost and trapped in our sins. I also believe that the world tends to view Christians as a joke.
Yes, I said it. The question is "why?" Why would I say that the world views Christians as a joke?
As I start this answer, I want to preface my answer by saying, I love being a Southern Baptist Pastor. I love the fellowship I have within my denomination. I also love my brothers and sisters in Christ that are in other denominations.
With that being said, it is time we wake up and look at what we are doing.
In John 13:35 Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Yet around our country and around the world, the church is so fractured, so split apart, that the world is laughing at us. We argue about doctrines, we argue about music, we argue about Bible translations, we argue about how to dress, what is ok to read, what we can watch, what we can or can't say, and on and on... Churches have split over the meaning and mode of Baptism and churches have split over the color of the carpet in the sanctuary.
The fact is we are called to love each other, but the divisions in the church have become so wide that we even have denominational hymnals. You can get: The Presbyterian Hymnal, Baptist Hymnal, The New National Baptist Hymnal, The Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal, The Pentecostal Hymnal, The Lutheran Hymnals in America, The 21st Century Universal Denominational Hymnal, The Psalms & Hymns Of Reformed Worship. We can even get The African American Heritage Hymnal if we would like to have our worship songs based on race.
Really? What if we were to put Pentecostal hymnals in a Baptist Church? Or we could put Lutheran Hymnals in a Methodist Church while putting their song books in a Presbyterian Church. Is one Hymnal somehow more holy or more sacred than another?
Wait! That makes me want to ask other questions: Do we even need a hymnal? Do we need music to worship God? Do the instruments used in worship determine the holiness of a song? If so, what about the rhythm or beat of the music?
Or maybe, the worship that God really desires is a worship that results in lives being changed for the good. Maybe God wants our very lives to be worship, our thoughts, our actions, our relationships, our jobs, our words, our deeds, our creativity, our play, our relaxation....
Maybe worship, true worship, won't build walls of separation but instead will tear them down. Maybe we can embrace our brothers and sisters rather than bash them. Maybe we can encourage, strengthen, and inspire one another.
Mark 7:6-8 says, "He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
Wow! Can you imagine what it would be like if we thought of these words as applying to us rather than "those guys". We read these words and think, "Way to go Jesus! Stick it to those Pharisees!" Yet, what if these words, that God put in the Bible for us today, were intended to open our eyes to our own flawed worship?
What if we began to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)and truly embraced the words of Paul in Romans 12:1, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."
When we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice we won't be caught up in having to be right all the time, and we might just start reaching out to others no matter where they are in their spiritual journey and show them the type of love that stretched His arms from one nail to the other.
Jesus paid the price! Let us honor Him in all our ways!
Ok, now that I have that out of the way, I want to just start out by saying, "I am a Christian - unashamed, and unrestrained, a Christian." I believe that the Bible is the word of God. I believe that Jesus is the only way for salvation and that apart from Jesus' death, burial and resurrection we are lost and trapped in our sins. I also believe that the world tends to view Christians as a joke.
Yes, I said it. The question is "why?" Why would I say that the world views Christians as a joke?
As I start this answer, I want to preface my answer by saying, I love being a Southern Baptist Pastor. I love the fellowship I have within my denomination. I also love my brothers and sisters in Christ that are in other denominations.
With that being said, it is time we wake up and look at what we are doing.
In John 13:35 Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." Yet around our country and around the world, the church is so fractured, so split apart, that the world is laughing at us. We argue about doctrines, we argue about music, we argue about Bible translations, we argue about how to dress, what is ok to read, what we can watch, what we can or can't say, and on and on... Churches have split over the meaning and mode of Baptism and churches have split over the color of the carpet in the sanctuary.
The fact is we are called to love each other, but the divisions in the church have become so wide that we even have denominational hymnals. You can get: The Presbyterian Hymnal, Baptist Hymnal, The New National Baptist Hymnal, The Companion to the United Methodist Hymnal, The Pentecostal Hymnal, The Lutheran Hymnals in America, The 21st Century Universal Denominational Hymnal, The Psalms & Hymns Of Reformed Worship. We can even get The African American Heritage Hymnal if we would like to have our worship songs based on race.
Really? What if we were to put Pentecostal hymnals in a Baptist Church? Or we could put Lutheran Hymnals in a Methodist Church while putting their song books in a Presbyterian Church. Is one Hymnal somehow more holy or more sacred than another?
Wait! That makes me want to ask other questions: Do we even need a hymnal? Do we need music to worship God? Do the instruments used in worship determine the holiness of a song? If so, what about the rhythm or beat of the music?
Or maybe, the worship that God really desires is a worship that results in lives being changed for the good. Maybe God wants our very lives to be worship, our thoughts, our actions, our relationships, our jobs, our words, our deeds, our creativity, our play, our relaxation....
Maybe worship, true worship, won't build walls of separation but instead will tear them down. Maybe we can embrace our brothers and sisters rather than bash them. Maybe we can encourage, strengthen, and inspire one another.
Mark 7:6-8 says, "He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.’ You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men."
Wow! Can you imagine what it would be like if we thought of these words as applying to us rather than "those guys". We read these words and think, "Way to go Jesus! Stick it to those Pharisees!" Yet, what if these words, that God put in the Bible for us today, were intended to open our eyes to our own flawed worship?
What if we began to worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24)and truly embraced the words of Paul in Romans 12:1, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship."
When we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice we won't be caught up in having to be right all the time, and we might just start reaching out to others no matter where they are in their spiritual journey and show them the type of love that stretched His arms from one nail to the other.
Jesus paid the price! Let us honor Him in all our ways!
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