Piety

Matthew 23:5-6 ESV

They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place f honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues…

The brisk air on my face, breath crystalizing in the starlit night, a shovel in my hand, not the way I normally start Sunday morning. While shoveling eight to fifteen inches of snow, depending on the drift, an individual is given a great amount of time to pontificate. The Wednesday previous I had noted how beautiful the snow was and God’s grace to humanity in that, something that did not exist before the flood, and therefore before the fall, God would mercifully be both beautiful and fun to play in.

This morning my thoughts were consumed with a different question, “Why?” It is an interesting question that I am asked to tedium by my children. I had already cleared my drive to the street the previous night and now was faced with clearing from my drive to the path that the faithful city workers had labored until three in the morning, to clear in the road. I had already been asked multiple times if church was going to be canceled. I had been informed by numerous people they wouldn’t be able to make it, and been faithfully informed of other churches that had chosen to close. To all this I simply took the information, and continued in the same direction I had planned, for those unaware one of my many faults is that I don’t change course well, even when it would be prudent to do so.

So, I woke up extra early and started shoveling, with the brisk nights air as my soul companion. Yet, the question that persisted to invade my thoughts demanding an articulate answer was, brief and forceful, “Why?” It had been a long night with a sick kid and a fussy baby, the warm bed was excruciating to leave in exchange for the bibs and a shovel. My body, and mind wanted to know, why they had forsaken such creature comforts. The arguments were well thought and aptly made. “Going to church does not make you more saved. Would you put others in danger to be seen as more faithful than the other pastors or churches? Is this your way of showing you actually work for a living?” The relentless scrape of the shovel matched scoop for scoop with demands for, “Why?”

The answer actually comes in the form of a question, in true Christ following style, “Why do we go to church?” The weather is inconsequential to the answer to that question. If we go to church simply that others might see us as pious and faithful, then that is why we must go even if two feet of snow is on the ground. If our church must be the most dedicated then it MUST remain open at all costs. If I go to church simply because it is my job and I am a hard worker, then to maintain my identity I must be in church on Sunday. The answer to the question, has as many answers as churches have attenders, but only one answer matters. Why does the bible say we attend church? The bible is clear that the church has always assembled, for the breaking of bread, teaching of Gods word, and fellowship. Christ rose on the first day and the Spirit fell, on the first day (Lev 23:15-16, Acts 2:1), it was also early on both those days. The Church has always gathered on the first day in a special way to worship, even as they gather through out the week as well.

Yet, the bible paints a picture of people gathering not out of compulsion but out of joy and desire to draw near to God and one another. Much as a bride groom needs not command to inform him what actions are desirable on his wedding night so to do Christians desire fellowship on Sunday. Yes, circumstances make what I desire unattainable at times, but I dare say a young man waking a couple hours early to scoop snow a great providential hindrance in light of Christian endurance and love for this day through the churches two millennia of Christian history.  Church is not an act of piety, but rather an act of desire, a longing for fellowship with the bride of Christ. A knowledge that something special was missed and an opportunity lost if not attended.

I have heard many good and right reasons why God, in his providence, hindered his saints from gathering Sunday morning. I do wonder if those same reasons hold for Sunday evening. If the church does not meet at one building what hindered it from meeting at some other time through out the day in smaller numbers at houses doted throughout our communities. Gathering saints from different theological ilk to fellowship and read his word. Often, I am convicted, it is mere lack of desire.

So, why didn’t this particular pastor cancel “church”? Simply, I thought I would see more of the Church this way. Scared that if I canceled, I wouldn’t see any of Christ’s bride that day, and perhaps not until the following Sunday.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

Boldness to Speak

Acts 3:19 ESV

And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding not way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened.

Have you ever noticed that threats often work? Lacking any ability at the moment to accomplish what is desired the threat is used to create change that is otherwise unworkable. Weather it is the persistent threat of the American Civil Liberties Union or the National Riffle Association. The bluster and strut of the roster yields the desired end, “don’t tread on me”. This allows millions to be cooed and brought in line by those unable to accomplish it through any other means.

As I come to Peter and James, I am ashamed and brought low. How often have I let the strutting cock win the day? How often have I checked my action because a broken branch, uprooted, and twice dead was swaying in the wind. A few weeks after rejecting Jesus and having him slain on the cross, the rulers and elders and scribes gather to talk and judge men. Peter and James answer the questions boldly and directly. Not hiding behind turn of phrase, half-truths, or fifth amendments. Recognizing that they were commanded to speak this good news to this audience precisely because they were free to do so! The Jesus YOU crucified and rejected, by his name we do this, and by his name and NO OTHER must we be saved!

When commanded to not speak anymore, they do not simply walk out and speak anyway, no they make it plain to all they will continue because the command not to speak was back by an inferior sovereign! No strutting government would stop them from preforming the commandment given to them to “GO and make disciples”, to declare the name of Christ to all nations.

Who commands your tongue? When the Spirit prompts and you feel that uncomfortable thought breaks loose that “you should say something”, what drives you away from opening your mouth? Is it the fear that someone will sue? Maybe you will lose your job? Or perhaps you fear others thinking you stupid, backwards, or uneducated? Which is your sovereign, O’ Christian? The same spirit that rushed upon the prophets, resides in the heart of every Christian. The same spirit that allowed Peter and James to continue to preach until they were martyred. That spirit is in the heart of every Christian. Weather it be the Internal Revenue Service, the School Board, or any plethora of strutting peacocks, let us recognize who is really sovereign and whom we should fear, and it is not those who stand before you now, but him who you will stand before!

“I would not say such things if I were you” are the words of a sniveling prince who can’t control the tongue of a slip of girl who spoke truth into his life, and he has not idea how to silence her. Speak truth into the darkness and let the devil try and figure out how to stop it.

Coram deo

Only the Beginning

Genesis 50:20 ESV

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Joseph’s response to his brothers, is always convicting, challenging, and inspiring. To have those who have robbed you of so much, have taken so many years of blessing from you, is the dream of every sinful man who has been wronged. He attributes his slavery, false accusations, prison, and all the hardships he has endured, to one being. Recognizing that the men before him were the means, and God brought it about, that “all things” work for the good of those who love him, including all the evil that is endured, by him and by his father.

The blessing of reading from different sections of scripture as you read through it is that you start to make connections that would not normally appear to you or manifest themselves in your thoughts. Coming to the end of the Gospel according to Mathew, we find the taunt of the people “He trusts in God” (Matthew 27:43). This taunt rang loudly in my ears this morning. Partly because of the message given on Sunday, looking at how the people of Israel did not trust God, to provide for them when things got difficult. Jude reminded us that although God had saved them, they were not his people, they were destined for destruction. They spent forty years complaining that God was not good, he could not be trusted to take care of them. They would rather trust their Egyptian masters. Christ refused to use his power to make bread for himself while fasting in the desert. He would trust God for his provision and care.

Trusting in God for his care and provision lead to death on the cross. Betrayed and abandoned by those he had trained and loved for the last three years. How quickly I want to judge the pages of time. Watching as wave after wave of scandal plague this person or that corporate body, as if justice is being served on earth. If there is one truth every Christian should know it is that Justice is not served on earth. Yes, we should seek it but we will fall short, every time. Full justice is served on the last day when you stand before the throne of God. When the wicked are judged for their crimes and the righteous appeal to the greatest earthly injustice, and say that was the justice I deserved.

Jesus trusted God to the point of death. Even his mockers bear witness that they do not think God is worth trusting. Such are all those who think that earthly pain and pleasure are the goals of God and man. Even as I bemoan my lack and rejoice in my abundance, I give evidence of my lack of faith, and my heart of stone that my God wants me to be happy hear, now, and in the hear after. Let us trust in God and rejoice in our affliction that we might join the tide of Christian experience, and Christ himself, declaring that God is good… and All the time…

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

Red Handed

Psalm 10:13 (ESV)

Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, “you will not call to account”?

I went down the stairs to get a can of Cream of Chicken soup. I was in charge of lunch and had finally figured out what I was going to make. As I come up the stairs, I hear a bag hit the floor. I get to the top of the stairs and find one of the kids’ bags of Christmas candy on the floor. I quickly pick it up so Sharon and the dog don’t get into it, assuming it had become dislodged as I looked for my can upstairs. After a little bit I wonder where my four-year-old son is…

In the vastness of learning their never seems to be a shortage, in this time, of books on parenting. As young parents find themselves suddenly facing the reality that they hold an immortal soul in their arms, the magnitude of what awaits starts to set in. A culture that has majored on separating parents from their children. Those children now realize they completely neglected truly watching their parents. As the dominate narrative has been one of moving away from home, they find themselves far from the traditional sources of knowledge and wisdom, and turn to the latest “Dr. Spock” with a book on the shelf, or Podcast, or blog. Completely desperate for any answer on how to accomplish that which has been given to them, the rearing of a child. Kelly and I were no different.

In one of the plethora of books Kelly and I read (might have been a blog article) one statement stands out, head and shoulders above the rest. This mother recommended constant prayer that your kids would get caught. The idea being that they would quickly learn they can’t get away with it, that God does see, and that he will enlist others in correcting the problem. As we are in the midst of parenting a child who seems to be constantly looking for trouble, I start to get frustrated, with him always getting in trouble. Having been corrected multiply times and lost the privilege of his Christmas Candy, I would have thought enough. Instead, he gets a hoody for Christmas. I am of the firm belief he attempts to wear the hood up around the house to live in the fantasy that no one will see.

Little boys aren’t the only ones who think that God isn’t watching or that no one will see. As millions turn to internet Porn, from the “safety” of their own homes. As more choose to jeopardize other drivers with a constant eye out for “smokies”. Songs sung with catchy tunes “what happens in Mexico…” or “…Vegas…” As if God does not see. As Christians we must constantly understand that earthy punishment for sin is a blessing, meant to “lead us to repentance”. As our unsaved children and friends continue to persist in sin and evil let us not grow weary of hearing of it. It is God’s blessing for us to help them understand that God does see, he will judge, and they must repent, turn to him, submit to Jesus as Lord, that their judgment might rest on him.

…a little jostling is happening behind the door in the laundry room and sure enough, he stole some candy and was eating it. Yes, my son gets in trouble a lot. And as much as we grow weary with it. It is better than getting away with it. Better than learning the lie that “God does not see”. All of my children suffer under the prayers of their parents that they will get caught, and since there is a God who sees, they do. And you, O’ Christian, suffer under a loving high priest who knows and prays for you to be caught, “with groanings too deep for words.”

CORAM DEO

Walking with Giants

Genesis 11:4 ESV

Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”

It doesn’t take long. Driving down the road with my kids in the back, through the normal iterations of conversation, the topic of homes comes up. Probably due the expanding and growing nature of my family, my thoughts often turn to the need for more space. The moment I bring up my dream of building my house, the next line is quick upon the lips of all who hear. Even my children have begun the familiar chant, this time from the back seat, “The wolf will get you” is the line. We had just driven by a very nice brick home, but my dream is one of straw. I have a folder full of the technical data on the advantages of straw bale construction dating back to the 1950s, but it seems a short tale of three pigs trumps all scientific research!

The men of Babel had just come to new technology, bricks and mortar. With this they would “make a name for themselves”. Wanting everyone to know who they were. For all peoples to recognize that they were really something. To make a name of rebellion, as God had told them to fill the earth, they had chosen to stay. As the chief end of man is to glorify God, they desired glory for themselves. And so, they make a tower, apparently tall buildings with your name on it is not a new idea.

In the popular Disney movie “Mary Poppins” the father, George Banks, is “making it” in the world and when it all crashes down he sings a line that never fails to touch something inside me. “A man has dreams, of walking with Giants, to carve his niche in the edifice of time.” Longing to be someone, to make something of ourselves, not content with glorifying God, our name must be attached in letters as big or bigger, maybe even with top billing. Yet, when mid-life strikes, and the realization that no niche will be carved, what do we do? Such is the crisis of mid-life.

Looking to our lives, realize this, that the things that stand the test of time, are the immortals you live with, work with, and talk with, every day. The ones that annoy you, the ones who lie to you, the ones, that honor you, the ones that care for you. These are the only things of this earth that will last into the next. How are you building in them? Ephesians tells us our words are to “build up” grace in others, are your words?

Coming back to the text, note that in all of the paragraph concerning the tower of Babel something is missing. A name. No, in their quest to “make a name” not a single name is remembered. They failed and made it worse for everyone. Such is the life lived for one’s self and one’s own glory. Die to self. God has called us to replenish the earth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As servants of God and slaves to his will, let us not rebel, and try making a name for ourselves. That everyone might stand up and call us nice. Let us lift up the name of Christ, that all might fall down and worship! Are we content to have a name that we and God alone know (Rev 2:17)?

CORAM DEO