Tag: Bible

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Is Star Wars Racist?

No. It is not.

Perhaps you saw it, too. An African American commentator on MSNBC made the audacious claim that Star Wars is racist. After all, Darth Vader wears a black outfit, “he was terrible and bad and awful and used to cut off white men’s hands, and didn’t, you know, actually claim his son.”

As a Star Wars fan I find this conspiracy theory to be ludicrous and absurd. She has no idea what she’s talking about. The dichotomy of black/white or darkness/light is not about race. It’s a concept about good and evil that transcends race (not to mention that Storm Troopers, the classic evil henchmen, wear white). lego-631850_1920

It’s a strong biblical theme, and the Bible is a book written BY non-whites (sorry, white people, if you didn’t know that by now). The Bible is written by Middle Eastern men – brown dudes (and possible a dudette, depending on your view of the authorship of Hebrews – but that’s a debate for another time and place).

Darkness has long been associated with what is less-than-goodarth-vader-147014_1280d. Bad guys do their work under cover of night. Night conceals and hides the truth. Job talks about God as one who “reveals mysteries from the darkness and brings the deepest darkness into the light.” The Psalmist declares: Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”

The Gospel of John says about Jesus:

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:4-5)

Indeed, even Jesus says of himself:

“I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me would not remain in darkness.” (John 12:46)

See – even brown-skinned people use the dark/light and black/white dichotomy to talk about good vs. evil. Star Wars isn’t racist – it’s a representation of the classic struggle all of humanity faces.
But here’s the kicker – in Star Wars, the struggle between the good side and the dark side of the Force is a Yin/Yang balancing act. Good and Evil are equal opposites.

This is not the biblical perspective.

In the Bible there is no evil that equals God’s goodness. There is no darkness that is comparable to God’s light. Every power is subservient to the Almighty. There is no balance to the Force – there is only Jesus, the light that cannot be comprehended or overcome by the darkness.

So every time you watch Star Wars, do so with a racially guilt-free conscience. And as we wrestle with our own good side and dark side, remember that we know the ultimate outcome.

Jesus wins.

(and just for fun, here’s one of my favorite Benny Hinn videos!)

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The Big 10: Murder Most Foul!

C’mon, preacher. I’ve never killed anyone. I’ve got the 6th commandment down – piece of cake!

“You shall not murder.”

I don’t think anyone would disagree that murder is not cool. Whatever you’re feelings are about justifiable homicide, war, etc. – everyone seems to agree that murder is not okay. So we’re not going to spend a lot of time on this one. It’s just that one little line. Instead, we’re going to jump right to the New Testament:

MATTHEW 5:21-24 ~ 21 “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. 22 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire. 23 So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Jesus takes the Old Testament idea of the action (murder) and converts it to a matter of the heart (anger). We can’t get away with avoiding behavior any more. We are confronted with the attitude and heart that underlies the behavior.

This is a problem for me. I could avoid killing people all day long. Getting angry? That’s a whole ‘nother matter! anger-794699_1280Jesus is saying that what’s on the inside can separate us from God. We can’t hate each other on the inside and then go pretend that everything is okay. But we do it all the time. Something happens and fills us with anger. Then we walk into church and we put on a happy face and say, “Praise Jesus – God is good!” We’re two-faced liars who would rather be passive-aggressive towards people than to be open and upfront.

Jesus says, “I CALL SHENANIGANS!”

He calls us out and says that the things we have between us can get between us and God. Don’t try to get right with God when you’re not right with everyone else. Let’s be honest – we do it all the time. We come to worship while harboring anger towards other people. And how often are we intentional about reconciling that anger before we worship? It almost NEVER happens.

Anger by itself is not wrong. We see examples in the Bible of God getting angry. We see Jesus getting angry. It’s not wrong – it’s part of the character of God. And if it’s part of the character of God it’s part of how we are wired. No, anger is not wrong.

How we DEAL with anger is where we go wrong.

Ephesians 4:26 ~ Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.

Anger is not bad – it’s part of who we are. Paul seems to believe that we can be angry and not sin. Anger is an attribute of God. God’s anger is a right reaction to moral evil and injustice. It’s not about personal insult or hurt. When God sees moral evil and injustice, God gets angry. What God gets angry about; we can get angry about in a righteous way. We can spot injustice and be righteously angry. When we get angry about our personal causes and offenses is where we run the risk of getting into sin.

Anger in and of itself is not wrong. The question is simply, “What are we angry about?”

What we get angry about and how we deal with that anger are the important things here! Anger can stir up trouble and have harmful consequences.

There are 3 Primary Causes of Anger:

  1. Injustice – We can get angry about the things that God gets angry about – when it’s about faith, righteousness, and justice.
  2. Frustration – something blocks us from our desired goal/outcome.

upset-534103_1920Frustration can cause anger. It’s NORMAL to respond in anger to frustration. If my desired outcome is to get all of my kids out of the door and into the van by a certain time and they fail to comply, my children are being roadblocks to my desired outcome. They are preventing me from my plan. And I get steamed – I become angry. It’s an easy anger, but it’s not a good anger.

  1. Threat/hurt – injury, insult, attack, etc.

Any time we’re injured, see an injury coming, or perceive any kind of threat (physical, emotional, etc.) our normal response is to get angry. Have you ever whacked your thumb with a hammer? We respond in anger. Did the nail do anything wrong? Nope. How about the hammer? Nu-uh. Yet we get angry over the hurt.

The same thing happens in relationships. When we see someone flirting with our significant other and we feel some sort of threat we respond in anger. We might call that type of anger jealousy, but it’s still an anger response.

It’s normal.

But just because anger responses are normal in these situations does NOT mean it’s okay to hold on to our anger. That’s why Jesus comes along and says, “Your anger is keeping you from your relationship with God.” Just from a physical point of view, holding on to our anger can cause real health problems. Living in freedom from anger can heal our souls AND our bodies.

But it often easier said than done. My dad’s side of the family is Scottish. My mom’s side is Irish. People often joke that I’m genetically bred to be angry. But there is no DNA excuse – we can’t skate by simply because of where we’re from. So here are some practical steps to letting go of the anger.

  1. Acknowledge/identify the anger – Who am I angry at? What am I angry for?

Confess to God. Confess to the person you have an issue with. Stuffing your feelings deep down inside is only going to make you sick. Tackle it head on (lovingly, if you confess to the person you have an issue with).

  1. Restrain your outbursts – no matter how mad you get it’s not gonna change the past. How you handle your anger IS gonna change your future.

I remember a classic Disney cartoon in which Donald Duck was taking an anger management class (via a record player). The voice on the record told him to try 10 second countdown timer – when he felt himself getting hot under the collar he was supposed to count down from 10 to zero. Whatever it takes for you, find a way to practice restraining your outbursts. Give yourself time to cool down.

  1. Let compassion replace resentment – get a different perspective; is there ANY other way to look at what’s happening?

When it comes to our anger towards other people, we can go a long way in letting go if we try to see the situation from another point of view. From my shoes I’ve been wronged, sure. What would happen if I tried to see it from an outsider’s vantage point? What about from the vantage point of the person with whom I’m angry? Find compassion for what they’re going through rather than focusing on your own sense of indignity.

  1. Resist ruminating – the 10 second replay button has to GO!

Going over and over and over and over situations that make us angry do nothing to help us cool down. In fact, they usually keep the fire stoked. If we’re serious about keeping our anger under control, we need to stop replaying the situation in our heads. Find something positive and lovely to think about instead. I’m not saying to ignore the situation and sweep it under the rug. I’m saying that we don’t have to re-live it day after day and hour after hour.

  1. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not take your anger out to the general public (like Facebook).

It only serves to escalate the problem and doesn’t allow you to forgive. The public route is merely an attempt to justify your anger. If you have to talk about it, talk to the person you’re angry at and not the entire community.

So What?

Jesus calls us to right relationships – to reconcile conflict as best we can (sometimes that’s not going to be possible – it is a two-way street) It’s time to let go of the anger we’ve been holding on to and time to move forward.

 Questions for Reflection

  • Who am I angry at?
  • Have I tried to work through the anger or am I holding on to it?
  • What would happen if I let go of the anger?
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The Big 10: So’s Your Old Man!

For those of you who have been tracking along with our Big 10 series, today we hit the mid-point. We’re now half-way through the ten commandments. The 5th commandment has to do with mothers and fathers.

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

This is the first commandment that has a promise attached to it. If you follow this instruction, then the promise is this: you’ll have a long life in the Promised Land. There is a connection between how they treated their elders and how God blessed them.

This is somewhat of a foreign concept in western culture. We love people as long as people love us. But God doesn’t put conditions on this command. It’s not always easy. Have you ever had a parent who knows everything and, no matter what you say or do, nothing is ever right or good enough? But we are STILL called to honor the parents that drive us crazy.

When you’re 10 you might have disagreements with your parents that drive you bananas. When you’re 50 years old you might have life-long issues with your parents that have never been resolved. I’m reminded of a joke I once read:

child-355176_1920– When a child is six her words are, Daddy I love you.”
– When she is 16 her words are, “Daddy you have no idea what you’re talking about!”
– When she’s 26 it’s, “Daddy, you’ve got some good ideas.”
– When she’s 36 it’s, “Daddy, I should have listened to you from the very beginning.”

The Bible says to honor our parents but this is not about domination. Parents, we cannot use this commandment to batter our children and demand obedience. God isn’t talking to minors about how to deal with parents while we’re living in their home. The readers here are adults. God is telling those of us who are grown that we still need to honor mother and father.

But it goes far beyond that.

In Hebrew, the words mother and father go beyond the parental units that birthed us. people-852423_1920The words can be used for grandparents and ancestors. It really comes down to the family as a whole. God’s promise to a long life in the Promised Land isn’t about obeying the people who raised us – it’s about creating a culture that honors those who have gone before us. It’s about the entire community sticking together and thriving.

In Deuteronomy 6:1-9 we’re told about what the family is supposed to do.

These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

It’s the responsibility of the family to teach about God and his covenant. It’s the responsibility of the children (adult children, mind you) to say, “I will be a covenant keeper.”

What does it mean to honor parents and family? It can be a vague commandment, but it wasn’t difficult in the ancient world: you don’t curse your parents, you don’t strike your parents, you don’t disobey your parents, and you provide your parents with a proper burial.

Our culture has trained us to think of community in a different way. Instead of family units making up the community, we are now communities of strangers. In the ancient near east, the smallest family unit was the nuclear family. They would live with the larger unit: the clan. The clans stuck together to make up the tribe. The tribes then made up the nation.

Without strong families, the nation ultimately fails. When the family falls apart, the community falls apart. It’s not just about honoring parents because this is a nice thing to do. God tells us that a strong community is predicated on how we honor the family.

In the New Testament Jesus radically changes the notion of familybaby-772439_1920 and community. Instead of flesh and blood, Jesus now makes faith the common bond that unites the new community. In the church we used to call each other “Brother So-and-So” and Sister such-and-such.” Flesh and blood doesn’t matter anymore because we have a new bond.

We have the same obligation to honor those who have come before us. We have an obligation to respect and listen to our fathers and mothers. Children, obey your parents. Honor your father and mother. Jesus is pulling directly from the 10 commandments and he reiterates the same principles. But he flips the table on the parents and elders: Don’t exasperate your kids but bring them up in the right way. This is the essence of discipleship! We are all called to help disciple those who come after us.

It’s not enough to go to church and get our spirituality on. We’re called to parent and to raise up the next generation. If the community is going to be strong it starts with the family unit. When we fail to disciple those who come after us, the community will weaken and ultimately fail.

Parent to child, are we doing what we ought to be doing to establish healthy families? Are we raising our children to be covenant keepers? Are we honoring those who have gone before us – not just our biological parents but our spiritual elders? The church is designed to BE the new family unit. It’s a sad state of affairs when people can go to church and feel completely isolated. It’s time to revitalize the community; the family; the community of God.

When we work on developing the Christian family, we’ll see happier and healthier homes. We’ll see stronger churches. We’ll see stronger communities of faith that actively honor the elders while simultaneously raising up the next generation.

 

Questions for Reflection

  • How can I honor my biological parents? How can I honor my spiritual elders?
  • What can I do to build and foster a healthy family and community?
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Hello – The Gospel of Adele

hand-977641_1280It’s difficult to go anywhere and not hear Adele. She’s everywhere. The other night my wife and I saw a Target commercial that was simply 60 seconds of the newest Adele music video. Her new hit that’s taking the world by storm is “Hello.”

Hello from the other side
I must’ve called a thousand times
To tell you I’m sorry, for everything that I’ve done
But when I call you never seem to be home

Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I’ve tried
To tell you I’m sorry, for breaking your heart
But it don’t matter, it clearly doesn’t tear you apart anymore

The lyrics are rather sad. woman-1006102_1920They are about loss. They are about heartache. They are about a broken relationship. They are about missed opportunities. Those themes resonate with all of us, for we’ve all experienced them in our own way.

In fact, they are actually themes that Jesus speaks to. Throughout the Bible, God demonstrates that his primary passion when it comes to humanity is restoration. From the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation, God is in the process of restoring humanity to himself.

But God ALSO cares about restoration when it comes to human relationships! Jesus says:

If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:23-24)

Later on Jesus says:

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother… (Matthew 18:15)

While the second passage is about a Christian model for handling disputes and conflict, these passages show us the basic principle that restoration of broken human relationships matters to Jesus. Instead of letting brokenness win the day, Jesus calls us to be proactive in fixing broken relationships. Integral in the process of restoration is forgiveness, which the Apostle Paul talks about:

Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ. (Ephesians 4:32)

How we treat each other is important to God. Human relationships are important to God. And that means that we cannot be passive when things are broken. Sorry, Adele, but it’s not enough to wait and call from the other side – to apologize long after the fact.

Be active in reconciling and repairing relationships before it’s too late and the damage is too great.

 

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The Big 10: Chill Out, Man!

Thanks for joining us on our journey through God’s Big 10 – the ten commandments. We’ve got the first three commandments out of the way – let’s press on and tackle number four. This time we’re gonna hear God tell us, “Chill out, man!”cat-98359_1920 Let’s talk about what it means to rest and what it means to cease from activity.

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Sabbath is a Hebrew word that simply means, “rest.” We’re told from the beginning that the context for our taking a rest is that it is the model given us when God created the world. He spends six days creating and rests on the seventh. That’s kind of funny – does God need a rest? Sometimes I get this funny picture of God sweaty and out of breath after spending 6 days working. I can imagine God saying,

“Hey, Gabriel, I just need to chillax for a second.”

We treat Sabbath like a mini-vacay. I’m not going to do anything! God told me to take a break! But that’s not what we’re talking about. God is not so weak that he needs to catch his breath. God is not so puny that he can’t go more than 6 days without a breather.

commandments-159649_1280Sabbath means ceasing from activity. It’s not about God being tired. It’s not about God needing a break. It’s about God having brought to completion all he set out to do, so he simply stops his activity. That is what Sabbath is – to pause, cease, and terminate your activity.

There are no other parallels with any other ancient culture. The idea of Sabbath rest is unique to God’s people. He tells us that it’s one of the ways that his people are set apart from everyone else. It’s not about kicking back and putting your feet up – it’s about stopping our work to focus on Him. It’s holy time.

Everything and everyone is supposed to stop. In the same way that God said, “I’ve done what I set out to do – this is good,” we’re supposed to step back from our activity and say, “God is good.” It’s not to catch up on sleep but to focus on God.

It’s easy to feel overloaded. Our schedules burden us. We are like a crazy little surge protector that is loaded to the max with plugs and wires. It’s a mess, about to start a fire. That’s what our lives are like without Sabbath. We become so overloaded. God asks, “Where do you make time for me? Where do I fit into your life? Let’s create a special place – a sacred space for you and me.”

You get all these days to do your work, but every seventh day humanity is supposed to unplug. We create special space to be with God. There are no other distractions. No one else gets that space. It’s his.

In the New Testament we get a little different picture of Sabbath. All God said in the Old Testament was to set apart the Sabbath – create the space. But there isn’t a whole lot of detail as to what it looks like. So God-fearing religious people set up rules and regulations about what it looks like. What can we do? Is it okay to save somebody’s life? Sure, we can do that. What about if my donkey falls into a hole? Well, if it’s within a certain radius of your home, sure, but if it’s outside the radius, no. What about lighting a fire in my home? No, that’s creative work – no making fires.

More and more I’ve seen that God has given us simple religion yet humanity comes along and mucks it up. Where God says something small, we turn it into a massive thing. Rigid observers of Sabbath law won’t even flip on a light switch on Sabbath. They bring in a gentile to do the work for them.

There’s a story in the New Testament where Jesus breaks Sabbath law by plucking grain to eat.

 23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. spike-143373_192024 The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?” 25 He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

It’s about the heart, not the letter of the law. Are we creating sacred space for God? Are we making room in our busy and hectic world to stop and focus on God? If you unplug everything this world is going to keep driving on. It doesn’t need me to keep turning. What are we REALLY losing if we unplug and say, “God, I’m giving this time to you”?

The New Testament does not give us Sabbath as a command to obey. Paul says, “Some people consider one day special…” but the principle of Sabbath still applies. Are we making sacred space for God? The principle of ceasing is still good. More rest means more productivity later on. More rest now means less stress-related problems later on.

There are physical benefits to Sabbath rest. God’s not trying to demand time because he doesn’t want us to do nothing else. He cares about us! More rest means a better, healthier us. Jesus was in the habit of unplugging and resting. Jesus took time by himself or with his disciples to get away to go rest. But it wasn’t about watching the game and having a cold one. Anyone can have a secular day off. Sabbath is about unplugging from the world so that you have that God-space.

But how do you build Sabbath time into your life? It starts with a conscious decision. We have to decide make that space. In our world we have a disease called “When I have time.” I’ll do that “when I have time.” I’d love to learn another language. I’d love to clean out the garage, sweetheart. I’d love to…

Pretty soon our lives are so cluttered that there is no time for anything! Is it any wonder that God tells us to take Sabbath rest? I’ll focus on God when I have time. God’s reply is, “Hey, dummy, I’ve built that time into the week for you.” So we cease all regular activity so we can unplug and focus on God. Spend the time in prayer. Put on a Christian cd and meditate. Go to worship services. Don’t worry about the world – it will keep spinning. If we let it, the world will keep driving us.

Get centered mentally and spiritually. It’s not about legalistically saying, “I can’t do XY&Z on Sunday.” It’s about finding sacred space. It’s about finding time to unplug from the world and plugging into God.

We will be happier. We will be healthier. We will see better homes, better families, and a better us. This week examine your schedule. Where can you find time to unplug from the regular world and make Sabbath space? It doesn’t matter what day or hour – we’re not going to be legalistic about it. But we need to learn to unplug from regular activity and make sacred space.

Questions for Reflection

  • What controls and drives my days and weeks?
  • When was the last time I tried to unplug in order to create sacred space?
  • Am I willing to drop everything on a regular basis to cease from activity and focus on God?
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The Big 10: Genie in a Bottle

I’m not terribly good at it, but I love doing magic tricks.magician I love seeing kids’ eyes get big when you do something that utterly amazes them. All over the world, people are fascinated with magic and magicians. From Harry Houdini to Criss Angel, we desire to see them do the impossible.

Why do we love magic so much? Magic brings with it the idea of power and control. Somebody able to do something that nobody else can do. There’s something about magic that delights us because we like seeing people do something that nobody else can do.

The 2nd commandment is about finding that mystical power that controls the universe – that controls our lives. You see-real magic is about power. It’s about controlling the world. It’s about becoming a god. I mean people who really dabble in magic. It’s about controlling the universe.

God starts off by saying, “I am the Lord your God”. Now he continues:

2. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

There’s a lot of debate on what it means to make an image. Some traditions say no statues, no art work, no image of any kind. God says, “No images” and that’s it. Other traditions say, “Jesus on the cross is not an idol!” So what are we really talking about?

It really comes down to power and control. When the ancients made idols they would make it whatever image represented their God. They had an understanding that the idol wasn’t just an object, but that the idol was actually the resting place of that god. When the idol was sitting in the sanctuary the god was literally present in the idol. It became a home for the god.

In the ancient world in times of war, when nation would come against nation, they would go to the enemy’s temple and try to steal their gods. They thought, “If we can capture their god and bring him back to our land then we have their power and control. Their god is under our possession.”

Who controls the universe? Who controls the world? God is saying – don’t act this way with YAHWEH. God will not be contained in a box! You cannot control Me! You cannot build a statue of me and expect that to be my home. I am bigger than anything you puny little people can build! You cannot begin to contain the power that is YAHWEH!

No idols is not saying, “No foreign gods.” He already said that in the 1st commandment. We already got that out of the way. He’s saying, “Do not even think for a minute that you can contain me. I am bigger than you can imagine.”

As humans, we like to put everything in neat little boxes. We like to have control of our universe. We like to know exactly what’s going on, the one behind the wheel. My wife has never been in a wreck when I’ve been driving with her. She’s very cautious. I have no reason to doubt her ability. Even still, I like to be the one behind the wheel whenever we go anywhere. I like to be in control of where I am going.

We like to be in control of our lives, to have the power to say what we are going to do, when we are going to do it, and with whom we will do it. We live control and power. So we look for any edge to give us that control. And we treat God like a genie in a lamp.genie We live our lives independent of God, separate from his control, until we come to a roadblock that we cannot overcome ourselves. Then we pull out our lamp, rub it, and say, “Genie, I need your help…I mean, Lord, God, hear my prayer!”

Practically, we treat God as if he were no more than a genie in a lamp. He’s probably sick and tired of being used. It’s like the movie Aladdin. Genie is asked, “What would you wish for?” He wants freedom. Genie says I’m a slave to the lamp and I get tired of “Poof, what do you need?” Too often that’s how we treat God. We call on him only when we need him. We expect God to come at our beck and call to make life good for us.

But we cannot contain and control Him! He is not at our beck and call. He is God and we are not. One of my favorite stories in the Bible comes from Acts 8:

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,  and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.  But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

Peter says, “You and your money can go to Hell” You cannot buy and manage God. You cannot finance your way to heaven. God’s presence is not a commodity that can be bought, traded, or sold. You cannot keep him in a box.

What it really comes down to is, “Who’s will is going to be in control?” Are we going to bend our will to his? Or will we try to bend his will to ours? The 2nd command commandment is about humans trying to bend his will to ours. “God, here is your resting place. When I need you I’m gonna come get you,” and God says, “Uh uh! No way, brother. It don’t work like that.”

God cannot be contained in a little statue. Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Who’s in control of your life? Is He? He’s supposed to be. As you look at your life and the things you do, who do you bend your will to? Or can you admit that you’ve been treating God like a genie in a lamp. I do my thing until I’m in trouble and then pray, “Jesus, save me!”

Poof, what do you need?

That’s not the way it’s supposed to be. I think we learn 2 things from Simon: 1) God cares about what’s going on in the human world. So much so that he is willing to do the miraculous if we just open our eyes and ask him. God wants to work in our lives. He wants to make the sick whole. He wants to repair broken relationships. God wants you to be whole and complete. He cares about us. 2) But he is not a genie in a lamp. He is not at our beck and call when we need him only to be ignored when things are going well. That’s our tendency. It’s my tendency, so I assume it’s yours, too.

We let Jesus alone until trouble is upon us. Then we run to him and cry out, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re about to die?” And Jesus asks, “Where is your faith? Don’t you know who is in the boat with you?”

He’s not your genie. He’s the creator of the universe. The one who came, took our form, and calls us “friends.” What other god can say to his creation, “I desire to be in relationship with you”? No other god!

The 2nd commandment helps us understand who we are and who He is. We need God’s presence more than ever before. We struggle with illness. Relationships are broken and are struggling. We feel hurt and lost. We feel like we’re drowning and the waves are sweeping over the boat. The power of God can rescue us. Not because he’s a genie in a lamp, but because he cares about you and me.

Simon had no need for God as long as he had his magic. Let us stop turning to God only when we have needs. Stop treating him like a genie in a lamp. Let us eagerly pursue his presence and power every day, through the good and the bad.

Questions for Reflection

  • What do you hold on to that controls your life?
  • What “magic” do you use to keep order?
  • Is God first? Or is he merely one among many?
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We Can’t Talk About This Sin…

Once upon a time the church talked about it. It was even considered one of the seven deadly sins.

Yes, I’m talking about gluttony. Junk Food

The dictionary defines it as greedy excess or indulgence, especially when it comes to food and drink. No, this blog post isn’t about healthy living and nutrition. I’m actually very fond of junk food. I’ve hardly come across any ice cream flavors that I wouldn’t eat. My favorite candy is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, followed closely by Twix. I’m also a big fan of meat lovers pizza and bacon cheeseburgers.

No, I’m not going to talk about proper nutrition. Ultimately, I guess, I’m talking about self-control (or the lack thereof). Because in my own life gluttony and self-control are inextricably linked.

This topic has been on my mind recently – I’ve been hit from multiple sides. My wife shared an article with me about 9 sins the church is okay with now (when it didn’t use to be). On the MSN homepage I saw an article about foods you should never eat – ever! On top of that, add in the very public mess with the hack and release of users of the Ashley Madison website designed to help people looking to commit adultery (why can’t people be satisfied with their spouses?).

So I don’t really want to write about food, but self-control. It seems to me that the lack of self-control is actually at the heart of many of the sins humanity wrestles with. But we don’t like self-control. Shoot – we don’t like ANY control. We prefer to live like my 8 year old, who bristles any time she is told that she can’t have her way right now. That part of our humanity seems to stick with us even as adults.

The problem is that self-control seems to be a REALLY big deal to God. The Bible has multiple passages relating to self-control:

– A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back. (Proverbs 29:11)
– But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
– Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. (2 Peter 1:5-9)

There are more, but you get the idea. Self-control seems to be one of the characteristics of God that we are supposed to embody ourselves. Can you even imagine a world where we demonstrated self-control consistently?

I will confess that I struggle with self-control. Self Control For me one area where my lack of self-control manifests is in my eating.

“Oh, here we go, Chris. We KNEW you were going to bring it around to health and fitness.”

No, I’m not really going to spend a ton of time there. But I do confess that it’s a personal struggle. I’ve had to find tools the help me combat my own weakness – and even with good tools I have a hard time. A book I read once (for the life of me I can’t remember the name) in seminary asked how pastors can possible hope to preach about self-control as a godly virtue when so many pastors are obese. It was personally convicting.

Perhaps food isn’t an area where you struggle, but the lack of self-control can hit us in so many different areas of life. If you stopped to think about your life, you might be able to pinpoint how your spiritual life (and perhaps even your physical or mental life) could benefit from greater self-control.

If we understand what the Bible says about self-control and believe that the Bible ought to be the standard for Christian life and thought, then perhaps we ought to examine how we can implement self-control more. For me it’s how I eat. And my anger triggers and responses to my wife and kids. And…

Geezy-Pete, I’ve got some work to do.

How about you?

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Subway, Jared Fogle, and Sex Trafficking

You have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard the news about Jared Fogle,Jared Fogle the formerly obese man who dropped a ton of weight by eating only Subway sandwiches who was then hired by Subway to be a spokesperson for the sandwich chain who was investigated for possession of child pornography who, it turns out, did a lot more than simply posses the material.

This whole case has brought two major thoughts to my mind.

1. He was a spokesman for a sandwich chain! I’m rather frustrated by the people who are treating this as a terrible fall from grace. Turns out the sandwich dude was a real scumbag. He was never hired to be a beacon of morality and virtue in a dark and dreary land. He was obese. He dropped a bunch of weight. I cannot believe the level of celebrity afforded this guy.

2. The REAL tragedy and story is revolves around human trafficking. If Jared’s case does anything, please let it point to the problems this world faces when it comes to human trafficking, Human Trafficking one of the fastest and most lucrative criminal enterprises in the world today.

Whether it be for sex or manual labor, human trafficking now generates over $32 billion a year.

$32.

Billion.

Let Jared point to this travesty. His trips to New York trying to find 14 year old prostitutes isn’t about his own issues. There’s a bigger problem – the 14 year old trapped in prostitution.

No 13 year old wakes up and says, “You know what I wanna do next year? I want to be a prostitute.”

There is no country in the world that isn’t touched by human trafficking in some way. This is not right. This must change. We cannot treat people like this.

This blog is about helping turn the Bible into behavior. So let’s be clear on this.

The Bible is quite clear that humanity, all humanity, bears the Imago Dei – the Image of God. This means that every single human being on earth has some intrinsic value that goes beyond what we say and do or even how we behave. While some of us behave poorly, we all bear the Image of God. We all have a measure of worth and can be redeemed.

When we abuse and mistreat others we are not simply treating people poorly – we are abusing the Image of God. The Bible makes clear that God created us and knew us from before our birth. Human trafficking messes with what God has designed, created, and has known before taking a single breath.

Okay, great. I think every decent person will agree that human trafficking violates God’s creation.

But let’s take it a step further.

The Bible also tells us to be people who love and pursue justice. JusticeWhen it comes to human trafficking, it’s not enough to read stories about people like Jared and simply shake our heads. We ought to be pursuing justice for the victims of human trafficking and seeking to put an end to future trafficking.

This is the only course of action Christians should find acceptable. We cannot be passive about it.

– You can support organizations that rescue people from slavery.
– You can keep your eyes open for possible situations around you and report it when you see it.
– You can educate others about the worldwide problem that is human trafficking.
– You can go to http://traffickingresourcecenter.org/ to get more info about this human travesty.

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking you can call right now 1-888-373-7888 and get help.

So please – let’s take the focus off of Jared and put it on to a problem we can do something about.

For the victims’ sake.

For God’s sake, people.

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Target Wants to Sissify Your Boys (but so does Jesus)!

Target made a BUNCH of people angry last week when removing gender-based labels in some of its departments. TargetAnd when I say a bunch of people I’m referring to people who would most likely self-identify as Conservative American Christians.

Social media lit up with many people blasting Target and accusing them of things like trying to subvert moral and decent society. Others accused Target of caving to the LGBTQ agenda.

Of course there is always the stand-by “sissification” argument. Any time the liberals get their way they end up contributing to the sissification of good, decent, conservative way of life.

  • You’re taking away our guns – sissification.
  • You’re making worship music in church about feelings and emotions – sissifcation.
  • You’re removing gender labels from store signage in some departments – sissification.

But that’s not what Target is doing. Target is recognizing that there is a lot of social construction in how we view gender in society. What, exactly, are boys toys? Are girls not allowed to enjoy them? On the flip side, are boys not allowed to like something labeled as a girl product? I can’t help that my 5 year old son enjoys watching Dora the Explorer thwart Swiper the Fox.

SwiperAre all Dora products off-limits to him?

Target is simply saying that the social constructs of what is manly or girlie are not going to play a factor in how they merchandise. Bravo to them. And here’s the funny thing – Target isn’t the first one to take such an approach to gender constructs.

I read somewhere once that now there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, there is no male or female. We are all now one in Christ Jesus.

Oh, yeah – IT’S IN THE BIBLE! (see Galatians 3:28)

It’s not that God is saying there aren’t differences among people. He’s saying that the social constructs that divide people do not play any part in how we relate to being part of the kingdom of God. Perhaps it’s time for red-blooded Americans to throttle back a little bit on the gender stuff. I’m not saying you have to stop loving NASCAR and start attending tea parties in the rose garden (see what I did there with gender stereotypes?).

I’m saying that it’s not a big deal for Target to change how they label their stores.

I’m saying it’s not a big deal for worship music to be emotional and poetic.

I’m saying that our idea of what is for boys and what is for girls comes more from society than we’d care to realize. We have done it – not God. If Paul can tell us that the social constructs that divide humanity play no part in God’s kingdom, then the idea that a store can embrace that philosophy seems…

well…

right on target.

 

 

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Dear Christian, How Can You Be in the Military?!

Let me begin with a disclaimer:

I do not represent the United States government or the Chaplain Corps. I speak for myself. My thoughts and opinions are just that – my own. 😉

Now that we got that outta the way, here we go!

A couple months ago a friend asked me about my chosen profession as a military chaplain

LT Chris Linzey, CHC, USN
LT Chris Linzey, CHC, USN

(I’ve spent 5 years in the Army Reserve and am now an Active Duty Navy Chaplain). The questions went like this:

How can you carry out Christ’s commands to love our enemies, to not resist evil, to overcome evil with good, to not kill – now that you’ve taken an oath to the military and abide by its laws? What are you counseling the service men and women?

This post isn’t going to get into the ins and outs of Just War Theory. I’ve written about it elsewhere (as have MANY others who understand it a lot better than I do).

But I do want to address the idea that Christians should not be in the military because we are called by God to be set apart.

1) From a biblical perspective, all of the instructions in the New Testament about loving enemies, overcoming evil with good, etc. are not instructions to officials about the best way to run a government. They are instructions about how we ought to conduct ourselves in our personal relationships. Remember that in the Old Testament the God who commands, “Thou shall not kill” is the same God that allows capital punishment for certain crimes. There is a difference between our personal ethics and our corporate ethics – and this difference isn’t a bad thing. It’s what allows us to pursue peace and healthy relationships while still being a society that deals in justice and punishment.

2) Coming to faith has never meant resigning from military service. Even in the Bible, Soldiers were not condemned for their military service or told to quit. In fact, the Bible tells us about Soldiers coming to faith.

John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins…. “Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance….” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He answered them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” (Luke 3:3-14)

If being a Soldier in the Roman army were wrong, why are Soldiers not condemned? Rather, they are told to be satisfied with their wages. That means they’re staying in the service!

3) Finally, as a Chaplain, it’s not my job to fight. The two purposes of military Chaplains are a) to spiritually care for service members and b) to advise Command about ethics, moral, and spirituality. In that sense, John the Baptist was the first Chaplain beginning in the New Testament era! He spiritually cared for Soldiers and helped them move in a godly direction.soldiers-praying

I’m not making a case for or against any particular war or military action. We will be debating the morality of military action until the end of time. My only point is that there is nothing intrinsically immoral or ungodly about Christians serving in the military.

In the military we are taught to obey ALL lawful orders. Should the time come when the military gives Christians orders that are unlawful or conflict with personal morality and ethics, Service Members are free to disobey the orders – just know that you will have to face the consequences of that decision 😉

At the end of the day I believe the Chaplain Corps makes the military a better place. We get to speak to issues of ethics and morality. We get to help Service Members pursue spiritual health. And, since the Bible clearly has no problem with God-followers serving in the military, I will not feel guilty about wearing the cloth of my nation.

I proudly serve my God while I proudly serve in my country’s armed forces.

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I welcome all discussion, just keep it civil and polite. If this post resonates with you in any way, please share it on Facebook, Twitter, or email!