Category Archives: Teaching

Non-conformist Christianity

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Christianity in the West has, for quite some time, been about cultural conformity, and very little, if at all, about the life and teachings of Jesus. It used to be that growing up in the United States meant you were exposed to Christian values, even if you chose to ignore or rebel against them. Not so today. To conform with Western culture, more specifically the American version, is to be at odds with the values of Christ. Therefore, in order to be a Christian, the kind of Christian that lives according to values taught by the biblical Jesus, you will need to become a non-conformist.

There are still vestiges of Christian culture, and plenty of people who appreciate it— even if they don’t really live by following Jesus— so, you’ll have a few friends. However, genuinely following Jesus Christ’s teaching will put you at odds with the majority. Your lifestyle will appear strange, and many of your choices will alienate you, even from church people. This is okay… if you believe what Jesus said.

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (John 15:18-19, ESV).

Don’t assume that “the world” in Jesus’ statement refers only to secular culture. It includes the church and its culture too. Remember, it was the most religious and well respected people who were the architects of Jesus’ execution. These were the guardians of culture in a society founded on religion. It was they who failed to recognize that God had come to visit. They confused their system of ritual, liturgy and law with God. The Romans worshiped strength and their own power. These first century Jewish leaders actually worshiped their own religious power. Jesus threatened that; he made them jealous; they had him killed.

In our day I’m no longer surprised when priests and ministers are exposed as frauds or moral failures. There are too many who are in religious leadership for the wrong reasons. I would be more surprised if every high profile leader or celebrity pastor were actually as pure as they pretend to be. Freud had at least one thing right, there exist ego defense mechanisms employed by people to protect their public personae. Among these defense mechanisms, Sigmund identified what he called “reaction formation,” wherein a person comes out publicly against something that they are actually practicing (or at least are harboring).

An example of this may be observed in the 1999 movie American Beauty. Ricky is the son of a homophobe. Ricky becomes friends with his next door neighbor Jane. Jane’s father is Lester (played by Kevin Spacey), who has a crush on one of Jane’s female friends. One day Ricky’s homophobic father comes on to Lester. After Lester rebuffs the surprising sexual advance, Ricky’s father shoots and kills Lester. The idea, I believe, is not that the man hated Lester, but he was driven by shame to kill what he hated about himself. Reaction formation is what is behind the shooter’s public hatred of homosexuals. One wonders about the late Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church…

People are attracted to money, sex and power. When religion offers a way to obtain any of the three, there will those who pursue it for that reason rather than the purported spiritual purpose. So, the answer to non-conformity with the world is not conformity to a religion, denomination,or church’s cultural expectations. In fact, the conservative expressions of church in the U.S.A. may be little more than the conservation of an older iteration of American culture, which may have some values that derive from the teachings of Jesus, but some that do not.

We seem to have selective memory when it comes to our longing for a bygone era. Peruse the fiction aisles of a Christian bookstore and you’ll encounter many novels which are set in the pioneer days. This seems to be a golden era in the minds of conservative Christians. The women all have long dresses and bonnets on their heads, the men are strong, family oriented and honorable. However, an honest examination of history would find many non-Christian values and religious expressions, during this time period. Then there’s slavery and racism. The pictures on the covers of these books are of white people. People of color probably do not look back at the 1800’s with nostalgic longing.

It doesn’t matter if you attend church or fancy yourself an atheist, you cannot escape the influence of culture. Those of us who seek to follow Jesus, however, need to stage a rebellion. I’m not thinking about a new monastic movement, or withdrawing from society like the Amish. We need to change our thinking and change our ways. We need to eschew conformity to either the secular or religious cultures and have our minds renewed by the truth of God. We need awakening. We need transformation. We need a resurrection.

This all begins with dissatisfaction. If think you’re all you need to be, if you have all you want, then you’ll never change. Jesus said he came to cure those who are sick, not affirm those who think they’re well (Matthew 9:12-13). He is the light of the world, but those who think they see, never will. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Dissatisfaction with the world system, with our culture, may then lead us to a willingness to look elsewhere for happiness and fulfillment. “We walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), so the ability to look elsewhere requires faith. Believe in the existence of a loving, almighty Creator. Trust him. Seek God by looking to the one who claimed to be his only born son. Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory, the exact representation of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). No one has ever seen God, but Jesus has explained Him (John 1:18). He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), and “in him all the fullness of God lives bodily” (Colossians 2:9). Jesus boldly proclaimed, “He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). If you want to know the truth and be free, then follow Jesus Christ and his teaching (John 8:31-32).

Our churches must become communities of non-conformity by virtue of taking the teachings of Jesus seriously and doing what the Lord commanded. Our lives must be consumed with love for God, rather than love of money. We must love one another the way Jesus loved us, rather than loving ourselves and seeking our own agendas. We must love our neighbors as ourselves, instead of loving stuff and envying those neighbors who have more than us. We must learn to be sacrificial servants, rather than self-seeking and self-serving consumers.

We must learn to worship and enjoy God’s presence in our everyday activities instead of constantly seeking to be entertained. We must reign in our insatiable and increasingly perverse sexual appetites. Pornography, fornication, adultery and homosexuality, all of which are practiced widely (even in churches), must immediately and completely stop in the lives of Christ’s followers. The love of guns, love of violence, bloodlust, all must become abhorrent to us. Guns are tools. I don’t love my shovel, my crescent wrench, or my blender.

We need to stop depending upon chemicals to make us happy or keep our moods positive. Alcohol, marijuana, antidepressants, energy drinks, cocaine or meth: it doesn’t matter, if I’m relying on the chemical instead of God, then it’s an idol and it has to go. “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12); “all things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up” (1 Corinthians 10:23).

If this is going to happen it will require a death. The death is the old me, my old self. That will not happen, indeed it cannot, through my own efforts. I don’t have the desire or courage to begin the process. Self-denial, self-discipline and harsh treatment of my body won’t change me on the inside. Faith in the crucified and resurrected Jesus, however, will. “For I have been crucified with Christ and no longer do I live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

I don’t think a non-conforming community of Jesus should avoid the world or avoid the culture, though. We need to engage people who are enthralled with culture and inured to religion with a real and relevant and renewed counter-culture centered on Jesus and his teachings. I’m not sure how all this looks yet, but I’m seeking and getting a sense of how it feels. Anyone else interested in joining the non-conformist revolution? Start with a serious reading of Jesus teaching to his followers about what it means to live out life like a follower. You’ll find it in Matthew chapters five, six and seven.

End Times Fatigue

Over the past decade and a half there have been several high profile eschatological prognostications. And now another…

This time it’s the so called “Blood Moons.” Sound’s ominous,doesn’t it? Like a title from Stephen King or Dean Koontz. This time the end times prophet is John Hagee, the pro-Israel Pentecostal pastor from San Antonio, Texas. He wrote a book  titled “Blood Moons” in anticipation of the phenomenon. If the exigencies of a busy 21st century life have distracted you, a moderately rare series of four full lunar eclipses, also known as a tetrad began early this morning (April 15, 2014). Astronomers have calculated the last of the four will occur on September 28th, 2015. What makes this Tetrad more rare is  that each of the four lunar eclipses coincide with important Jewish observances, two blood moon eclipses will accompany Passover and two will occur during Sukkot.

Today is Passover, the memorial of ancient Jewish release from Egyptian slavery. The term Passover refers to the point n the Exodus narrative when God’s Death Angel passed over the Israelite families that obediently splattered the blood of the sacrifice they ate that night on the door posts of their houses. All of the firstborn in the land of Egypt were killed by the Death Angel, but no observant Israelite household was touched by the tragedy. This was the final event that prompted Egypt’s Pharaoh to expel all of the Israelite slaves from his land. Passover was one of three pilgrimage festivals, which the ancient Israelites were to celebrate by traveling to Jerusalem. Shavout (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles) were the other two.

Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Booths is an eight day celebration of God’s protection of, and provision for, the people of Israel. In ancient times it was a harvest festival to celebrate the ingathering of grain and grapes, and it commemorated the Israelite wilderness wandering prior to entering the Promised Land. During the festival ancient Israelites lived in outdoor shelters under the stars. These “booths” were made from the branches of trees. In Jesus’ time this was a beautiful and festive celebration (Read the Gospel of John chapter 7 for an example of Jesus’ observance of the festival) . Even in our time Sukkot is considered a significant and joyous celebration by the Jewish people, the observant of whom still celebrate by sleeping outside under shelters.

Pastor Hagee believes that the coincidence of these eclipses is a portent of ominous events to come. The Bible does speak of the moon turning red like blood (Joel 2:31, quoted in Acts 2:20); hence, “Blood Moons.” The physical cause of this at the end of a full eclipse is due to the sun’s light being filtered as it passes through earth’s atmosphere on the way to the moon. The color is reddish, from a pink to a rust hue. The question is, is there eschatological significance to these, eclipses. I’m going to say that’s a definite maybe.

You’re probably as worn out by end time predictions as I am, and, if you are like me, skepticism always accompanies the hearing of such prognostication. However, if the first century disciples of Jesus were in high expectation of his return shouldn’t I be looking for his second coming all the more?

We’re warned to be prepared. Jesus himself said, “Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). The Lord also told a story to illustrate. It is called the Parable of the Ten Virgins. In 1st century Palestine, bridesmaids—who would all have been virgins— waited with the bride for the arrival of the groom, so they might accompany the couple to the wedding feast. Pay attention to the story as recorded in Matthew 25:1-13 (New Living Translation).

“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids* who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps, but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’
“All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’
“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’
“But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’
“But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’
“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.
*Virgins

Rather than becoming weary of all the predictions, let us continue to be ready at all times for the return of Christ. He will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2 among many), and no one knows the day or the hour (Matthew 24:36), but those of us who believe the Bible and follow Jesus should not be surprised when it happens. Instead, let us be vigilant, let us be prepared.

“But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:4-6, ESV).

“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.  The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:11-12, ESV).

Be prepared!

Fasting and Self-Denial

The truth is everyone has thoughts or desires, which, if acted upon, would be destructive to self and others. If we do not learn to say no to these inborn incessant urges when we are young, then we wind up dead, in debt or in prison before too long. We are conditioned to say yes to our whims from the time we are tiny via an array convincing consumer ads. Our economy surges when we splurge and buy what we are persuaded we want. In addition to this, we are taught that virtually nothing we do is really our fault. We are victims of time and chance and genetics, to say nothing of the people who have scarred us emotionally and psychologically. I need to eat comfort food to feel better; I need to buy myself something; I need to escape by playing my video games, trolling the internet for ever more interesting porn, watching countless hours of television or movies. Entitlement is a destructive mental illness because it is the excuse keeping us from saying no to ourselves.

Jesus said unless we deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow him we cannot be his disciples. Christianity in our time has followed the consumer culture by presenting a Jesus who wants to boost our sagging self-esteem, and enable our sense of entitlement by providing us with anything and everything we ask for in prayer. We are promised that we can receive whatever we ask for, but Jesus said, “if you abide in me and my word abides in you, then ask whatever you will and it will be done for you. He also said to ask “in my name,” which means asking by proxy for the kinds of things and with the kind of faith Jesus himself would. This is not self-interested asking. The only way to get to the place where we are asking like the Son of God is to become like the Son of God, and the only way to get there is to deny ourselves and be filled with the Spirit of Christ.

This denial of self is a cognitive process that involves seeing ourselves differently. It involves realizing a mysterious metaphysical reality: I have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). This cannot be a theoretical understanding only, or even a remarkable personal revelation into the teaching of Scripture. The Apostle said, “I die daily.” Thus, it is a daily, even moment-by-moment recognition that the old person of mere flesh and blood is dead.

Self-denial requires both faith and a resulting self-discipline. Without faith we likely will fail to continue in the discipline. After all, why should we deny ourselves what we want? Moreover, without assistance from outside the self we remain captive to the tyranny of “me,” even though denying certain desires or perceived needs. Therefore, faith in Christ is essential to self-denial, both as the reason and the power (stronger than so called “will power”) to deny the self.

I confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, and the Lord has commanded that I deny self. In fact, he stated plainly that I couldn’t follow him until I do this (Mark 10:34, Luke 14:26-27).  To assist me in keeping this command Christ has died on the cross, raised from the dead and sent His Spirit to live within me. His Spirit connects me to this death and resurrection. Therefore, the truth is I have died; I have been raised. In order to make this truth a reality in my experience I must believe and continually discipline myself to act upon that faith. Certain spiritual disciplines may aid in this practice.

People in many different religious traditions for thousands of years have practiced fasting. Consider the following extra-biblical examples of people who fasted: Confucius, Plato, Aristotle and Hippocrates (father of medicine). Within the canon of Scripture the Law

proscribed what is believed to be a fast once per year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 23:27).  In the Bible we find Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel and Esther fasting in the Old Testament, and Paul the apostle and Jesus himself fasting in the New Testament. Such eminent Christian leaders as Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards all fasted. Why?

There are many reasons and benefits, but in keeping with the teaching above I have observed the following truth. Fasting teaches me to say, “no” to me. It is denying something that I need, usually food, in order to focus on what I need more: God and his truth. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy when being tempted by the devil to end his fast miraculously by turning rocks into loaves of bread. “Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4 & Deut. 8:3). There is something, or rather Someone, more important in life than me.

Eating is essential for physical life to continue. Unlike air, or even water, food is something I can limit or go without for an extended period of time without serious health risks. In fact, if done correctly and not recklessly, fasting may actually be healthy for the body. For example, recent studies done with both animals and humans indicate that eating 30% fewer calories results in a longer and healthier life.

Fasting doesn’t have to be limited to food, however. Scripture records this interesting fast of the prophet Daniel during a period of serious prayer and mourning: “ I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, for the full three weeks” (Daniel 10:3, ESV). So, Daniel kept himself from self indulgence during this time. Later in the passage we see that he had chosen this kind of fast as a way of humbling himself before God to seek understanding into the future plight of his people Israel (ibid. 10:12). The Apostle Paul observed that married couples might abstain from sexual activity in order to focus on prayer. However, he encourages such couples to come back together after a limited time to avoid temptations, which may result from a lack of self-control (see 1 Corinthians 7:5).

This is posted during the Christian season of Lent, which is closely tied to the discipline of fasting.  Some people come up with an activity or indulgence in their lives to give up during this time. Common choices are: coffee, soda, alcohol, TV, social media, secular music and so forth.

The previous Pope, Benedict XVI, in his Lenten message of 2009 observed:

“…fasting represents an important ascetical practice, a spiritual arm to do battle against every possible disordered attachment to ourselves. Freely chosen detachment from the pleasure of food and other material goods helps the disciple of Christ to control the appetites of nature, weakened by original sin, whose negative effects impact the entire human person.”

Perhaps you can become a participant in fasting during this Lenten season.

The season of Lent is a time many Christians choose to fast. The following are some reasons for fasting, and not just for Lent. Fasting may be beneficial at any time.

1. Fast as an Act of Dedication–  Jesus went into the wilderness and fasted after his baptism and prior to entering into his ministry. Perhaps he did this to gain confirmation and clarity by intensely focusing on God.

2. Fast as an Exercise of Discipline–  Learn to say no to “me.” All of the temptations were for Jesus to act expediently and egotistically. If Jesus had given in it would not have been an exercise of faith, but, rather, the wildly alternating swings between self-doubt and presumption.

3. Fast as an Affirmation of Dependence–  Learn to rely on the power of God. Jesus’ first statement in response to Satan’s temptation demonstrates this. “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Deuteronomy 8:3 as quoted in Matthew 4:4, also John 4:34).

4. Fast to Establish Determination–  Learn to have a tenacious and unshakeable faith. “This kind can only come out by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29, Matthew 17:21).

5. Fast as an Act of Desperation–  Cry out to God in repentance (Joel & Israel, Jonah and Ninevah). “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” (Joel 2:12 NIV). A need to hear from God at all costs (Daniel 10 & 21 days of prayer), David seeking the healing of his 1st child by Bathsheba.

6. Fast as a means of Detoxification– Because of constant exposure to an impure environment your body collects all sorts of toxic and destructive substances. Consider Daniel and his friends who would not eat the meat and rich food offered them by their Babylonian overlords. Instead they ate only vegetables and drank only water. They were healthier as the result. A vegan diet that allows only organic foods can be a healthy way to rid your body of toxins. When you fast, especially for longer periods, the digestive system and liver can rid you of accumulated poison. The same applies to your mind. When you remove TV, movies, video games, godless music, social media, you give your mind the opportunity to rest. Replace these things with worship and saturation in Scripture.

7. Fast regularly to Diet– Limiting the amount of food you eat is a means of controlling calorie intake. Most of us eat too much. We take in more calories than we burn off, so we gain unneeded fat. Periodic fasting if done in moderation and balanced with a healthy, calorie controlled diet, is an effective tool in losing fat and maintaining a lean body.

Whatever you decide to do, remember the following principles.

If you make a commitment, keep it. Consistency is important for any discipline.

Choose something that will really require discipline to give up.

Giving up what you shouldn’t be doing to begin with is not fasting, it’s obedience.

It is not a good idea to make promises to God, better to rely on his promises for you. So, you aren’t fasting to get God to do something for you. Trust him to help you through.

Are You Poor Enough to Become Rich?

The Spirit of the Lord  God  is upon me, because the  Lord  has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the  Lord ’s favor,  and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—  to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,  the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;  that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the  Lord , that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations”  (Isaiah 61:1-5, ESV).

Who are the poor? Where do we find the poor in spirit?

Who is brokenhearted?

Who is captive, and to what are they enslaved, who is their master?

Who is in bondage, and what imprisons them?

Who is mourning, and for what?

These are the people Jesus came for, and if you and I are honest, we are those people: poor, brokenhearted, captive, in bondage, in mourning. Too many of us are lying to ourselves, though, or at least lying to others. We act satisfied with what we have and who we are. Perhaps this is because we lack hope, we lack a vision of something higher, something eternal. Perhaps too many of us are like the Laodiceans.

Laodicea was the seventh church the risen Jesus Christ addressed in Revelation chapter three. The church was established in a wealthy city filled with proud self-sufficient and self-satisfied and citizens. Here is what the Lord said to them, and what I believe would say to many of us:

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:15-17, NIV).

So long as you believe that you have all you need, that you are well and life is good, you will never receive blessing from God or be the person he desires. Your vision is clouded. You’ve become nearsighted by constantly looking only at what is placed in front of your face. You are a consumer and you buy, buy, buy whatever is easy, convenient, whatever feels good, or what everyone else has. Your imagination, the mind’s eye, is ruined with countless images of violence and pornography, which have been paraded before you and from which you have refused to look away. Yet there is still hope, if you sense conviction that something is wrong with you.

Here is what the risen Christ counseled the Laodiceans to do.

“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent”  (Revelation 3:18-19, NIV).

Perhaps you keep it together on the outside. Your friends and family think you’re normal, just like them. Yet being just like them is not the standard to determine whether you are right on the inside. Jesus Christ is the standard. More important for us, he is the Savior. He will save and heal and provide for those who come to him and give up their lives. You have nothing to offer him but your life, your wounded, wrecked, worthless life. That is what he wants, though. Confess your need to Christ right now and invite him inside, even if you’ve done it a hundred or a thousand times. Perhaps you’ve finally reached the end of your self-centered, lonely little life. He is standing at the door.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20, NIV).