"If you do not know the purpose of a thing you will eventually abuse it."
I do not know the author of this quote, but it is beautiful. Marriage, scripture, pain, sex, God and so much more fit into this. Thoughts?
Some thoughts on culture involvement
This comes from theresurgence.com, written by Jonathan Dodson (I do not know his background)
"Instead of simply condemning, critiquing, consuming, and copying culture, the way forward is to create a good alternative. Otherwise, we are simply left at square one, with very little Christian progress in various cultures. So, instead of bemoaning bad movies, make better ones. Instead of copying contemporary music and inserting Christian lyrics, create new music and contribute to cultural change through innovation and creativity. Draw attention to your Creator through superior or innovative cultural action."
This articulates my critique on main stream Christian culture and the main stream Christian response to culture very well.
I was indirectly taught as a young person to fear culture. I was told to fear the R rating without looking into why. I was taught to fear certain bands and the people who liked them. I was told to not watch shows like The Simpson's and 90210 and NYPD Blue.
I was also told to like artists like Amy Grant and Petra and if I was really edgy Stryper.
I love Dodson's words, "Draw attention to your creator through superior or innovative cultural action." What a great statement and imperative for us.
Dodson also paraphrases author Andy Crouch by saying, "I have advocated the making of culture—good culture for an infinitely good Creator."
"Instead of simply condemning, critiquing, consuming, and copying culture, the way forward is to create a good alternative. Otherwise, we are simply left at square one, with very little Christian progress in various cultures. So, instead of bemoaning bad movies, make better ones. Instead of copying contemporary music and inserting Christian lyrics, create new music and contribute to cultural change through innovation and creativity. Draw attention to your Creator through superior or innovative cultural action."
This articulates my critique on main stream Christian culture and the main stream Christian response to culture very well.
I was indirectly taught as a young person to fear culture. I was told to fear the R rating without looking into why. I was taught to fear certain bands and the people who liked them. I was told to not watch shows like The Simpson's and 90210 and NYPD Blue.
I was also told to like artists like Amy Grant and Petra and if I was really edgy Stryper.
I love Dodson's words, "Draw attention to your creator through superior or innovative cultural action." What a great statement and imperative for us.
Dodson also paraphrases author Andy Crouch by saying, "I have advocated the making of culture—good culture for an infinitely good Creator."
From Knowing God by J I Packer
Lots of things have struck me while reading the first 50 pages of this book. I will share a few now and perhaps more later or perhaps more thoughts from the next 50 pages.
Packer defines godliness as, "responding to God's revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service and must be seen and lived in the light of God's word. This, and nothing else is true religion."
Take special note of the words responding and revelation. There is an action that takes place in the heart of the godly person when that person is confronted with a revelation of God. Do not let these words pass you by. When something is revealed to you, you see it and experience it. I think of the Wizard of Oz when the crew finally gets to the wizard and his identity is revealed. When you have a revelation of something you see it's essence, the truth of it. You have knowledge if the thing being revealed.
In our quote above it is revelation of God that leads to all these areas of response. So our religious activity is a response to revelation of God and not some contrived way to gain acceptance from God or from men. No one is impressed by that.
There is much to say about the next series of quotes, but instead of giving you my thoughts on them, I will simply list some of them and ask you to let them sit with you like you sit before a good steak and smell the aroma and hear the sizzle and feel the warmth, then cut off a piece and chew it slowly and taste it deeply.
"What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination and lays hold of our allegiance; and this the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, and more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?" "...knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a person's heart." "You can have all of the right notions in your head without having ever tasting in your heart the realities to which they refer...without this, your relationship can only be superficial and flavorless."
The last thing I want to mention is a beautiful thought about the gospel. Packer writes, "There is, certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that he sees all the twisted things about me than my fellow humans do not see and he sees more corruption in me than that which I can see in myself. There is however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.
That is one of the greatest proclamations of the Gospel that I have heard. Taste and see that the Lord is good!
Packer defines godliness as, "responding to God's revelation in trust and obedience, faith and worship, prayer and praise, submission and service and must be seen and lived in the light of God's word. This, and nothing else is true religion."
Take special note of the words responding and revelation. There is an action that takes place in the heart of the godly person when that person is confronted with a revelation of God. Do not let these words pass you by. When something is revealed to you, you see it and experience it. I think of the Wizard of Oz when the crew finally gets to the wizard and his identity is revealed. When you have a revelation of something you see it's essence, the truth of it. You have knowledge if the thing being revealed.
In our quote above it is revelation of God that leads to all these areas of response. So our religious activity is a response to revelation of God and not some contrived way to gain acceptance from God or from men. No one is impressed by that.
There is much to say about the next series of quotes, but instead of giving you my thoughts on them, I will simply list some of them and ask you to let them sit with you like you sit before a good steak and smell the aroma and hear the sizzle and feel the warmth, then cut off a piece and chew it slowly and taste it deeply.
"What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination and lays hold of our allegiance; and this the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, and more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?" "...knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill a person's heart." "You can have all of the right notions in your head without having ever tasting in your heart the realities to which they refer...without this, your relationship can only be superficial and flavorless."
The last thing I want to mention is a beautiful thought about the gospel. Packer writes, "There is, certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that he sees all the twisted things about me than my fellow humans do not see and he sees more corruption in me than that which I can see in myself. There is however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.
That is one of the greatest proclamations of the Gospel that I have heard. Taste and see that the Lord is good!
The Gospel
I am thinking alot about the gospel today. I just finished up my sermon for this week and the gospel is all over Mark 7:1-23. Jesus goes hard after the religious nuts of the day. He is very in your face about them because they threaten his followers with heresy.
Then after he rips them he turns to his followers and offers a gospel centered message of repentance. It is truly beautiful. My heart has been changed and given hope today.
Then after he rips them he turns to his followers and offers a gospel centered message of repentance. It is truly beautiful. My heart has been changed and given hope today.
From Tim Keller
If you have the time click on this Tim Keller sermon link on this page and listen to it. It is very good.
Distractions
So I am a guy and that means that I struggle with lust sometimes. It means that whenever I see a Hardees commercial coming on, I stop looking at the tv. It means that when I drive to my parents house and pass the strip clubs on interstate 64 I engage my wife in conversation or look the other way and try not to get sucked in.
Sex is great thing. Sex is a thing that has been hijacked by our culture. Sex was given as a gift from God to enjoy and connect our hearts with our spouse. The female body is full of beauty and was meant to be enjoyed by husbands. It shows the beauty and artistry of God. Sex, when enjoyed in proper context is worship.
But again, our culture has highjacked it and we have perverted it and taken it to a place where we should not have taken it. We have taken something that is great and turned it into a massive distraction.
As a man, I know of the dangers of lust and because I do I run from it by placing safeguards in my life, like looking the other way or having accountability or conversations with my wife. I have trained myself to keep away from out of context sexual thoughts.
But, I wonder how many other distractions in this world take my focus away from the best. I wonder how many legit things gain my attention and affection in ways or amounts that are make it not legit. Sports, politics, TV, movies, books, friends...all these things are legit and gifts from God. But because they are not over the top bad and not talking points of the religious culture we do not give them the sort of attention and caution that we should.
Sex is great thing. Sex is a thing that has been hijacked by our culture. Sex was given as a gift from God to enjoy and connect our hearts with our spouse. The female body is full of beauty and was meant to be enjoyed by husbands. It shows the beauty and artistry of God. Sex, when enjoyed in proper context is worship.
But again, our culture has highjacked it and we have perverted it and taken it to a place where we should not have taken it. We have taken something that is great and turned it into a massive distraction.
As a man, I know of the dangers of lust and because I do I run from it by placing safeguards in my life, like looking the other way or having accountability or conversations with my wife. I have trained myself to keep away from out of context sexual thoughts.
But, I wonder how many other distractions in this world take my focus away from the best. I wonder how many legit things gain my attention and affection in ways or amounts that are make it not legit. Sports, politics, TV, movies, books, friends...all these things are legit and gifts from God. But because they are not over the top bad and not talking points of the religious culture we do not give them the sort of attention and caution that we should.
A Simple Thought
The other day my son Cooper got $50 from different relatives and all he wanted to do was spend it on games as soon as possible. I told him time after time, that I am not sure that was a good way to spend his money. I am trying to teach him about being smart with how he spends his money.
So then today I am listening to an interview that a well known pastor who speaks at many national conferences. Someone asked him the question about how he chooses which conferences to speak at and which ones not to. In his answer he said, "that is just not something I want to spend my life on.
Ten minutes later, I got up and went into the bathroom with a good book. I read the book for a few minutes and then took a long hot shower. I told Jen as I walked to the bathroom that this was a great way to spend 20 minutes.
While in that shower I started to think about the word spend. I started thinking about how I think about how we are going to spend our money and about how we want to wise with the resource of money and not blow it on stupid stuff. I was thinking about the lessons I am trying to teach Cooper.
But I absolutely do not have the careful consideration and budgeting efforts on my time. Time is a resource just like money is a resource.
So then today I am listening to an interview that a well known pastor who speaks at many national conferences. Someone asked him the question about how he chooses which conferences to speak at and which ones not to. In his answer he said, "that is just not something I want to spend my life on.
Ten minutes later, I got up and went into the bathroom with a good book. I read the book for a few minutes and then took a long hot shower. I told Jen as I walked to the bathroom that this was a great way to spend 20 minutes.
While in that shower I started to think about the word spend. I started thinking about how I think about how we are going to spend our money and about how we want to wise with the resource of money and not blow it on stupid stuff. I was thinking about the lessons I am trying to teach Cooper.
But I absolutely do not have the careful consideration and budgeting efforts on my time. Time is a resource just like money is a resource.
