Selected excerpts from this article.
"So 20- and 30-somethings are leaving—but why? When I ask church people, I receive some variation of this answer: moral compromise. A teenage girl goes off to college and starts to party. A young man moves in with his girlfriend. Soon the conflict between belief and behavior becomes unbearable. Tired of dealing with a guilty conscience and unwilling to abandon their sinful lifestyles, they drop their Christian commitment. They may cite intellectual skepticism or disappointments with the church, but these are smokescreens designed to hide the reason. "They change their creed to match their deeds," as my parents would say.
I think there's some truth to this—more than most young leavers would care to admit.The Christian life is hard to sustain in the face of so many temptations. Over the past year, I've conducted in-depth interviews with scores of ex-Christians. Only two were honest enough to cite moral compromise as the primary reason for their departures. Many experienced intellectual crises that seemed to conveniently coincide with the adoption of a lifestyle that fell outside the bounds of Christian morality.
However, in many cases, moral compromise wasn't the whole story. For example, one friend has had distinctly postmodern misgivings...I also met leavers who felt Christianity failed to measure up intellectually...Others have been hurt by Christians...A sizable minority of leavers have adopted alternative spiritualities. A popular choice is Wicca. Morninghawk Apollo (who renamed himself as is common in Wiccan practice) discussed his rejection of Christianity with candor. "Ultimately why I left is that the Christian God demands that you submit to his will. In Wicca, it's just the other way around. Your will is paramount. We believe in gods and goddesses, but the deities we choose to serve are based on our wills."
In my interviews, I was struck by the diversity of the stories...What pushed them out? Again, the reasons for departing in each case were unique, but I realized that most leavers had been exposed to a superficial form of Christianity that effectively inoculated them against authentic faith. When sociologist Christian Smith and his fellow researchers examined the spiritual lives of American teenagers, they found most teens practicing a religion best called "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism," which casts God as a distant Creator who blesses people who are "good, nice, and fair." Its central goal is to help believers "be happy and feel good about oneself."
Where did teenagers learn this faith? Unfortunately, it's one taught, implicitly and sometimes explicitly, at every age level in many churches. It's in the air that many churchgoers breathe, from seeker-friendly worship services to low-commitment small groups. When this naive and coldly utilitarian view of God crashes on the hard rocks of reality, we shouldn't be surprised to see people of any age walk away."
Thanks for reading.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
RESOLVED
As a practice - I found it very helpful to make a list of resolutions today, giving my life a scope and creating a standard by which at the end of each day, I can work to judge and critique my actions and more clearly see how and where I can improve.
I won't share my list, but I will share with you a few of Jonathan Edwards' 70 Resolutions that I find especially admirable or challenging.
"“Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake. “
15. Resolved, Never to suffer the least motions of anger towards irrational beings.
19. Resolved, Never to do any thing, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour before I should hear the last trump.
24. Resolved, Whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then, both carefully endeavour to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.
25. Resolved, To examine carefully and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and so direct all my forces against it.
29. Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept.
32. Resolved, To be strictly and firmly faithful to my trust, that that, in Prov 20:6. ‘A faithful man, who can find?’ may not be partly fulfilled in me.
37. Resolved, To inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent,—what sin I have committed,—and wherein I have denied myself;—also, at the end of every week, month, and year. Dec. 22 and 26, 1722.
39. Resolved, Never to do any thing, of which I so much question the lawfulness, as that I intend, at the same time, to consider and examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or not; unless I as much question the lawfulness of the omission.
51. Resolved, That I will act so, in every respect, as I think I shall wish I had done, if I should at last be damned. July 8, 1723.
53. Resolved, To improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.
54. Resolved, Whenever I hear anything spoken in commendation of any person, if I think it would be praiseworthy in me, that I will endeavour to imitate it. July 8, 1723.
56. Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.
58. Resolved, Not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness, and benignity. May 27, and July 13, 1723.
69. Resolved, Always to do that, which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Aug. 11, 1723. "
I hope you will consider crafting a list of resolutions for yourself and then pray that God, by His power, will fulfill them, as you work in faith to glorify Christs' name in yourself, according to His grace. (2 Thes. 1:11-12)
Thanks for reading.
I won't share my list, but I will share with you a few of Jonathan Edwards' 70 Resolutions that I find especially admirable or challenging.
"“Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him, by his grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake. “
15. Resolved, Never to suffer the least motions of anger towards irrational beings.
19. Resolved, Never to do any thing, which I should be afraid to do, if I expected it would not be above an hour before I should hear the last trump.
24. Resolved, Whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back, till I come to the original cause; and then, both carefully endeavour to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.
25. Resolved, To examine carefully and constantly, what that one thing in me is, which causes me in the least to doubt of the love of God; and so direct all my forces against it.
29. Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept.
32. Resolved, To be strictly and firmly faithful to my trust, that that, in Prov 20:6. ‘A faithful man, who can find?’ may not be partly fulfilled in me.
37. Resolved, To inquire every night, as I am going to bed, wherein I have been negligent,—what sin I have committed,—and wherein I have denied myself;—also, at the end of every week, month, and year. Dec. 22 and 26, 1722.
39. Resolved, Never to do any thing, of which I so much question the lawfulness, as that I intend, at the same time, to consider and examine afterwards, whether it be lawful or not; unless I as much question the lawfulness of the omission.
51. Resolved, That I will act so, in every respect, as I think I shall wish I had done, if I should at last be damned. July 8, 1723.
53. Resolved, To improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. July 8, 1723.
54. Resolved, Whenever I hear anything spoken in commendation of any person, if I think it would be praiseworthy in me, that I will endeavour to imitate it. July 8, 1723.
56. Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.
58. Resolved, Not only to refrain from an air of dislike, fretfulness, and anger in conversation, but to exhibit an air of love, cheerfulness, and benignity. May 27, and July 13, 1723.
69. Resolved, Always to do that, which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Aug. 11, 1723. "
I hope you will consider crafting a list of resolutions for yourself and then pray that God, by His power, will fulfill them, as you work in faith to glorify Christs' name in yourself, according to His grace. (2 Thes. 1:11-12)
Thanks for reading.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Fight the Good Fight
I urge you...
"Teaching doctrine that
does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ,
conceit,
an unhealthy craving for controversy,
quarrels about words,
envy,
dissension,
slander,
evil suspicions,
discontentment,
the love of money...
As for you, O man of God, flee these things
Pursue
righteousness,
godliness,
faith,
love,
steadfastness,
gentleness.
Fight the good fight of the faith.
Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
I charge you in the presence of:
God, who gives life to all things,
and of
Christ Jesus,
who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,
to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach
until
the appearing of our Lord - Jesus Christ...
the blessed and only Sovereign
the King of kings
the Lord or lords
who alone has immortality
who dwells in unapproachable light
whom no one has ever seen or can see
To him be honor and eternal dominion.
Amen.
Grace be with you."
1 Tm 6:3-16
Thanks for reading.
"Teaching doctrine that
does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ,
conceit,
an unhealthy craving for controversy,
quarrels about words,
envy,
dissension,
slander,
evil suspicions,
discontentment,
the love of money...
As for you, O man of God, flee these things
Pursue
righteousness,
godliness,
faith,
love,
steadfastness,
gentleness.
Fight the good fight of the faith.
Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made a good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
I charge you in the presence of:
God, who gives life to all things,
and of
Christ Jesus,
who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,
to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach
until
the appearing of our Lord - Jesus Christ...
the blessed and only Sovereign
the King of kings
the Lord or lords
who alone has immortality
who dwells in unapproachable light
whom no one has ever seen or can see
To him be honor and eternal dominion.
Amen.
Grace be with you."
1 Tm 6:3-16
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Rejecting Christ or Christians?
Two paragraphs from This Article:
"My own period of doubt came not because the idea of God or miracles seemed wrong, but because God himself wronged me. That's how I saw it, at least. Though atheists may argue that the existence of a supreme being is impossible, their arguments often reveal a belief that God just doesn't behave as they think he should. In a debate, Christopher Hitchens complained about war and killing in the Old Testament. He said he wrote his book God Is Not Great in response to the murders in Muslim countries that followed the publishing of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad. None of these are arguments against God's existence, but rather arguments against how God and especially his followers act."
"Atheists may have an arsenal of arguments against God or religion. But at heart, rejection of God seems not to be a purely logical choice against the possibility or desirability of God. Rather, it is often a rejection of God's people. Atheism's recent popularity should serve as a warning to us. Apologetics conferences and passionate rebuttals may have their place. Certainly we should be ready with reasons for our faith. But before we begin dueling on blogs and arming ourselves with television talking points, let's learn to see atheists not as deniers of God, but as wrestlers with him. And let's remember that their deepest arguments against belief are the people they're arguing with."
Thanks for reading.
"My own period of doubt came not because the idea of God or miracles seemed wrong, but because God himself wronged me. That's how I saw it, at least. Though atheists may argue that the existence of a supreme being is impossible, their arguments often reveal a belief that God just doesn't behave as they think he should. In a debate, Christopher Hitchens complained about war and killing in the Old Testament. He said he wrote his book God Is Not Great in response to the murders in Muslim countries that followed the publishing of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad. None of these are arguments against God's existence, but rather arguments against how God and especially his followers act."
"Atheists may have an arsenal of arguments against God or religion. But at heart, rejection of God seems not to be a purely logical choice against the possibility or desirability of God. Rather, it is often a rejection of God's people. Atheism's recent popularity should serve as a warning to us. Apologetics conferences and passionate rebuttals may have their place. Certainly we should be ready with reasons for our faith. But before we begin dueling on blogs and arming ourselves with television talking points, let's learn to see atheists not as deniers of God, but as wrestlers with him. And let's remember that their deepest arguments against belief are the people they're arguing with."
Thanks for reading.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Trendy Jesus
Interestingly to me, I find that Jesus is almost trendy is today's society. The majority of people believe in God and many people will say they like Jesus...or Jesus Rocks...or Jesus is my homeboy...or whatever. The more interesting part is that Jesus CHRIST is much less trendy. I don't hear people casually saying, I love the Christ. I love Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus. Anything like that. I feel like there is something to this.
Biblically, I checked it out, and in Paul's letters he refers to Jesus almost 200 times, and in less than ten of those does he refer to our Savior as simply "Jesus." He almost always writes Christ. When he doesn't specify the title Christ, he makes certain to write "the LORD Jesus." Often times he would combine them: "The Lord Jesus Christ." In the Gospels Jesus is conversly referred to as simply Jesus, but this makes sense as the stories are about the man Jesus. His life and work. Luke especially focuses on Jesus as a man, as a type of theme, and the other three Gospels refer to Jesus as "The Christ" the first time they mention Him and defer to simply "Jesus" after that.
SO WHAT?
So what? Why does this matter? I don't know. But I think it may be significant. I feel like our emphasis on having a personal relationship with God has something to do with it. Now I'm not taking ANYthing away from this. Our God is a personal, loving, wonderful God who truly wants to know us and this is what sets the True God apart from many other gods. It is also a crux of Christianity. What I do fear is that we have forgot that Jesus is also ALMIGHTY GOD. He is our Lord. We don't grasp that terminology in our society as much. But he is our Boss, our Superior, our King. He is the Authority. He is also the Christ! The Messiah. He is the one promised to come and save His people from their sins. He was long awaited as the Ruler who would finally deliver peace to the world.
Listen, God is a paradox. 100% of many different things. He does call us His friends, and this is so wonderful and important and life-changing. But He is also our Master. We are servants; and more literally - his slaves. I don't want to forget the importance of Jesus as LORD. As Almighty God, whom we are to fear! He created all! He will judge all! Mountains melt before him! He is truly awesome in every sense of the word.
I just want everyone to have a clear view of WHO GOD IS. So...I ask you to consider, the next time you talk about Jesus, think about saying "Christ" as well.
The world has stolen his Holy Name as a curse word. Let's reclaim it.
Biblically, I checked it out, and in Paul's letters he refers to Jesus almost 200 times, and in less than ten of those does he refer to our Savior as simply "Jesus." He almost always writes Christ. When he doesn't specify the title Christ, he makes certain to write "the LORD Jesus." Often times he would combine them: "The Lord Jesus Christ." In the Gospels Jesus is conversly referred to as simply Jesus, but this makes sense as the stories are about the man Jesus. His life and work. Luke especially focuses on Jesus as a man, as a type of theme, and the other three Gospels refer to Jesus as "The Christ" the first time they mention Him and defer to simply "Jesus" after that.
SO WHAT?
So what? Why does this matter? I don't know. But I think it may be significant. I feel like our emphasis on having a personal relationship with God has something to do with it. Now I'm not taking ANYthing away from this. Our God is a personal, loving, wonderful God who truly wants to know us and this is what sets the True God apart from many other gods. It is also a crux of Christianity. What I do fear is that we have forgot that Jesus is also ALMIGHTY GOD. He is our Lord. We don't grasp that terminology in our society as much. But he is our Boss, our Superior, our King. He is the Authority. He is also the Christ! The Messiah. He is the one promised to come and save His people from their sins. He was long awaited as the Ruler who would finally deliver peace to the world.
Listen, God is a paradox. 100% of many different things. He does call us His friends, and this is so wonderful and important and life-changing. But He is also our Master. We are servants; and more literally - his slaves. I don't want to forget the importance of Jesus as LORD. As Almighty God, whom we are to fear! He created all! He will judge all! Mountains melt before him! He is truly awesome in every sense of the word.
I just want everyone to have a clear view of WHO GOD IS. So...I ask you to consider, the next time you talk about Jesus, think about saying "Christ" as well.
The world has stolen his Holy Name as a curse word. Let's reclaim it.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Example of Job
The other day I lost my guitar. I had it...put it in my car...and the next thing I knew it was gone. Stolen, I figured. I always lock my car but I must have not done that at a quite inconvenient time.
Luckily, I didn't really care. Not because I didn't love my guitar, because I did. But I really am blessed by having a personality that doesn't sweat the small stuff. It's just not something I'm prone to do. But, there was another reason it didn't bother me: I had a bible verse stuck in my head immediately afterward.
"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." - Job 1:21b
There are many reason I can think of why not having my guitar anymore would be good, and even if I couldn't think of any, I'm confident there would be. Because I believe the Bible when it's says that "for those who love God all things work together for good." No matter what. The name of the Lord should be praised.
So I was looking at my empty guitar stand at home today, wondering what I should do with it. I had my tuner too, which was not in my guitar case apparently. I decided to leave my guitar stand right where it was, rig the tuner in the neck cradle, and print off Job 1:21 to tape onto it, as a reminder that "every good and perfect gift is from above" and that although the Lord may take things away, he still deserves to be praised.
I'm confident that I'm being taught this in the simple insignificant case of a guitar because I will inevitably undergo immeasurably greater losses in the future. God always has done a good job of preparing me for things, even when I'm unaware.
Before going to my computer to print off the verse to tape onto my guitar stand, I grabbed a hat that was lying on the floor, and in an effort to keep my room tidy, went into the hall to put the hat where it belongs - in the big closet. I opened the door, set the hat down, glanced over in the corner of the closet....
And I saw my guitar case.
I just stared at it, more than likely with my jaw hanging open. I quickly scanned my memory to make sure that I had the guitar in the case when I lost it; I had. I touched the case to make sure it wasn't a mirage; it wasn't. I slowly lifted up the case and took it into my room. I carefully unfastened the clips, opened the case, and there it was. My guitar. (or more accurately God's guitar which he has entrusted to my care.)
And true to form I did just what the Tree 63 song would tell me to do.
"Every blessing you pour out - I'll turn back to praise."
So I did. I played and sang and I praised God because He is always good, because he taught me a valuable lesson, and also went above and beyond. Amazing, no?
To Jesus be the glory.
Luckily, I didn't really care. Not because I didn't love my guitar, because I did. But I really am blessed by having a personality that doesn't sweat the small stuff. It's just not something I'm prone to do. But, there was another reason it didn't bother me: I had a bible verse stuck in my head immediately afterward.
"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." - Job 1:21b
There are many reason I can think of why not having my guitar anymore would be good, and even if I couldn't think of any, I'm confident there would be. Because I believe the Bible when it's says that "for those who love God all things work together for good." No matter what. The name of the Lord should be praised.
So I was looking at my empty guitar stand at home today, wondering what I should do with it. I had my tuner too, which was not in my guitar case apparently. I decided to leave my guitar stand right where it was, rig the tuner in the neck cradle, and print off Job 1:21 to tape onto it, as a reminder that "every good and perfect gift is from above" and that although the Lord may take things away, he still deserves to be praised.
I'm confident that I'm being taught this in the simple insignificant case of a guitar because I will inevitably undergo immeasurably greater losses in the future. God always has done a good job of preparing me for things, even when I'm unaware.
Before going to my computer to print off the verse to tape onto my guitar stand, I grabbed a hat that was lying on the floor, and in an effort to keep my room tidy, went into the hall to put the hat where it belongs - in the big closet. I opened the door, set the hat down, glanced over in the corner of the closet....
And I saw my guitar case.
I just stared at it, more than likely with my jaw hanging open. I quickly scanned my memory to make sure that I had the guitar in the case when I lost it; I had. I touched the case to make sure it wasn't a mirage; it wasn't. I slowly lifted up the case and took it into my room. I carefully unfastened the clips, opened the case, and there it was. My guitar. (or more accurately God's guitar which he has entrusted to my care.)
And true to form I did just what the Tree 63 song would tell me to do.
"Every blessing you pour out - I'll turn back to praise."
So I did. I played and sang and I praised God because He is always good, because he taught me a valuable lesson, and also went above and beyond. Amazing, no?
To Jesus be the glory.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Jesus' Joy - Our Good Example
Ever felt down? Depressed? Joyless?
I have advice. If you're not a Christian. Meet Jesus! If you are a Christian, rely on the Holy Spirit to give you joy! This is where true joy comes from. Galatians 5:22 lists joy as one of the "fruits of the spirit." And Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom of God is a matter of "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Going through a REALLY tough time though? Maybe you don't see how this elusive joy is even possible? Let's look at two biblical examples of attaining joy.
First, of course, Jesus!
Jesus was a man just like us, with all the same temptations common to us, though he never sinned. How did he remain joyful throughout his life? The Holy Spirit. Luke 10:21 says that Jesus was "full of joy through the Holy Spirit..." and then he prayed to the Father. (Notice our trinitarian God here!)
But I can hear the argument already. Jesus, in this context, was probably happy anyway, right? The seventy-two he sent had came back, and although he had just admonished them for rejoicing for the wrong reasons, he must have been happy that they had done the good work of sharing the good news!
I say, regardless, he's still is receiving some supernatural joy from the Spirit, right?
Right.
[EDIT: Also, I think we should keep in mind that Jesus was a "man of sorrows" and "acquainted with grief" or "familiar with suffering" (Isa 53). Plus, Eccl 1:18 says that "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." And Jesus was the wisest man to ever walk the face of the earth! Some may say it was all so much easier for him, remaining joyful in our context, because He was God. But I think the instrumental thing was that he was filled with and led by the Holy Spirit continuously. And that same spirit lives within us; the one that raised Christ from the dead! (Rom 8:11) ]
Okay, well, second example - let's flip over to 1 Thes Chapter 1. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica and they were apparently not in circumstances that would be really congruent with joy usually. They were, in fact, suffering severely (Paul's words, not mine). I don't know what kind of suffering, although I assume it included persecution from very angry non-believers, as Paul had been chased out of town by an angry mob when he left! (Read Acts 17).
But...what did the church there do? Paul writes: "In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." If we're going through some valleys, even "severe suffering", joy is still available to us!
Fantastic, no?
Now, to finish, maybe you still can't figure out what there is to be joyful about. Well, I believe that this joy spoken of really is a supernatural joy, and we should not, perhaps, try to manufacture it. But let me just jump back to the scene in Luke's gospel quickly. Jesus says to the seventy-two - "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Well, if you trust Jesus, your name is written in heaven! A proverbial 'guest list' to the wedding feast that will begin eternity for believers! That's something to be joyful about! Just one of many things that can bring us joy regardless of our circumstances. So.....
Rejoice!
I have advice. If you're not a Christian. Meet Jesus! If you are a Christian, rely on the Holy Spirit to give you joy! This is where true joy comes from. Galatians 5:22 lists joy as one of the "fruits of the spirit." And Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom of God is a matter of "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Going through a REALLY tough time though? Maybe you don't see how this elusive joy is even possible? Let's look at two biblical examples of attaining joy.
First, of course, Jesus!
Jesus was a man just like us, with all the same temptations common to us, though he never sinned. How did he remain joyful throughout his life? The Holy Spirit. Luke 10:21 says that Jesus was "full of joy through the Holy Spirit..." and then he prayed to the Father. (Notice our trinitarian God here!)
But I can hear the argument already. Jesus, in this context, was probably happy anyway, right? The seventy-two he sent had came back, and although he had just admonished them for rejoicing for the wrong reasons, he must have been happy that they had done the good work of sharing the good news!
I say, regardless, he's still is receiving some supernatural joy from the Spirit, right?
Right.
[EDIT: Also, I think we should keep in mind that Jesus was a "man of sorrows" and "acquainted with grief" or "familiar with suffering" (Isa 53). Plus, Eccl 1:18 says that "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." And Jesus was the wisest man to ever walk the face of the earth! Some may say it was all so much easier for him, remaining joyful in our context, because He was God. But I think the instrumental thing was that he was filled with and led by the Holy Spirit continuously. And that same spirit lives within us; the one that raised Christ from the dead! (Rom 8:11) ]
Okay, well, second example - let's flip over to 1 Thes Chapter 1. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica and they were apparently not in circumstances that would be really congruent with joy usually. They were, in fact, suffering severely (Paul's words, not mine). I don't know what kind of suffering, although I assume it included persecution from very angry non-believers, as Paul had been chased out of town by an angry mob when he left! (Read Acts 17).
But...what did the church there do? Paul writes: "In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." If we're going through some valleys, even "severe suffering", joy is still available to us!
Fantastic, no?
Now, to finish, maybe you still can't figure out what there is to be joyful about. Well, I believe that this joy spoken of really is a supernatural joy, and we should not, perhaps, try to manufacture it. But let me just jump back to the scene in Luke's gospel quickly. Jesus says to the seventy-two - "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Well, if you trust Jesus, your name is written in heaven! A proverbial 'guest list' to the wedding feast that will begin eternity for believers! That's something to be joyful about! Just one of many things that can bring us joy regardless of our circumstances. So.....
Rejoice!
Why does God give us grace?
We are told that "God is Love." And that's true.
We are told that "God so loved the world." And that's also true.
We are told that God "chose us...before the creation of the world." And that, my friends, is true as well.
Christianity is based on the fact that God gives people grace that they don't deserve. But why? Well, here's the answer: only God knows.
As Ephesians 1:5-6 tells us.
"He predestined us...according to the purpose of his will - to the praise of his glorious grace."
That's it.
According to the purpose of his will. To the praise of his glory.
This should fill us with awesome wonder...while welling up in us an inexpressible thankfulness.
And how does this grace come to us?
Through Jesus Christ!
[EDIT: As I have further learned, later on in the book of Ephesians, we get a little more insight. It says that God's kindness to us is to show the riches of his grace to those in the coming ages (2:6-7). The really crazy part is that it says this will happen as we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, which seems to indicate that his glory is being shown to angels or other heavenly beings we know nothing about! This idea is backed up in Eph 3:10. ]
We are told that "God so loved the world." And that's also true.
We are told that God "chose us...before the creation of the world." And that, my friends, is true as well.
Christianity is based on the fact that God gives people grace that they don't deserve. But why? Well, here's the answer: only God knows.
As Ephesians 1:5-6 tells us.
"He predestined us...according to the purpose of his will - to the praise of his glorious grace."
That's it.
According to the purpose of his will. To the praise of his glory.
This should fill us with awesome wonder...while welling up in us an inexpressible thankfulness.
And how does this grace come to us?
Through Jesus Christ!
[EDIT: As I have further learned, later on in the book of Ephesians, we get a little more insight. It says that God's kindness to us is to show the riches of his grace to those in the coming ages (2:6-7). The really crazy part is that it says this will happen as we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, which seems to indicate that his glory is being shown to angels or other heavenly beings we know nothing about! This idea is backed up in Eph 3:10. ]
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)