God, glory & Glenn Beck

Perhaps you heard of or watched the “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington DC on 8/28, organized by Glenn Beck.  I missed it, though I would have liked to watched.  I did however read with interest the news stories swirling around this event, the predictable mischaracterization by the mass media, but most interesting of all, I watched the Glenn Beck show on Fox yesterday (Monday) which was wholly dedicated to the event.  Hundreds of thousands of what appeared to be patriotic people interested in “restoring honor” gathered and cheered and peacefully rallied.  The surprise star of the show was God.  His name was invoked.  Prayers were offered up to Him.  Glenn Beck summed up the “God” part of it on Monday by saying “get behind the shield of God.”  It was moving stuff.  He introduced what he called a “black robed regiment” – meaning about 250 clergy who stood with him for awhile on the stage.  He promised much more to come from this black robed regiment (stay tuned, he said, for Friday’s show).  But let us take a step back from this glow and see what strange fire is this.  Just what “God” are we appealing to?  Is it the Mormon God?  Or is it more broadly represented by the black robed regiment (constituted of Jewish Rabbis, Muslim Imans, Catholic priests, preachers on the left, preachers on the right…)?  Does America need God or does America need the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  Anyone can sell or buy a generic god (and the more of less traditional virtues accompanying) which let us poke our finger in someone else’s eye.

I read a very thoughtful article today written by Dr. Russell Moore of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He puts it so much better than I could have, so I will just send you the link

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=1141100

It’s OK to want to be Blessed

It’s OK to Want to be Blessed!

     From some corner of miserly Christianity there has crept in the false and pernicious notion that to want to be blessed is a cursed thing.  To openly and adamantly speak “O Lord, bless me indeed!” sounds a bit self-serving. With so much suffering in the world today, how can a good Christian be so myopic?  Good questions to think through, but I would join Jabez (1 Chronicles 4:10) in maintaining that it is biblical, not blasphemous, to desire blessing. 

     When God first spoke to Abraham, He had blessing in mind.  “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing” Genesis 12:2.  When Israel was on the verge of (finally) entering the Promised land, God said:  “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life(which also means “choose blessing), so that you and your children may live” Deuteronomy 30:19.  God both wants us to be blessed and wants us to choose to be blessed. 

The book of Psalms opens with these words: 

Psalm 1:1-3

“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

 ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

 ³ He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.”

Most people want to be blessed, I believe.  But few people follow vs 1, nor delight in vs 2, nor experience vs 3!  How about you?

     When we come to our Savior’s Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, we find a recurrent theme:  “Blessed are…blessed are…”

     It is good to want to be blessed.  I’ll even go further; it is godly.  Consider these words from C.S. Lewis (excerpted from The Weight of Glory).  “If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion…is no part of the Christian faith.  That is, this kind of stoic thinking is not biblical thinking.  Lewis further says, “Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.”  Wow – read that line from Lewis again, and let it bear its full weight upon you.  Now, just one more from Lewis:  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.”

     That is indeed our biggest obstacle to blessing:  we are far too easily pleased.  We were created to enjoy much more than our broken toys. May we quit these fragile and spoiled things of earth which can never satisfy our longing hearts, and may we look instead to our all-satisfying Savior.  It is good to want to be blessed.  Blessing is found by all those who put their faith in Christ and set their hope upon Him.  One of my favorite verses is Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”  It works this way:  when we delight (take in the full meaning of that word “delight” – it evokes thoughts of deep purpose and high emotion), again, when we delight ourselves in the Lord (i.e. He is the desire of our heart, nothing less than Jesus will do!), then “He shall give you the desire of your heart.”  When your heart’s desires are fulfilled you will be blessed indeed. 

 Blessings!  Gary Crandall

Haiti Hating?

Pat Robertsons now infamous statement that the Haitians brought their misery upon themselves because of an ancient (1791) pact with the devil, has become fodder for all kinds of firestorms. 

Here is a sane, honest, helpful and wise article by Ed Fudge (available at his Gracemail site too)

http://www.edwardfudge.com/gracemail/today.html

Psychology and God

God is my therapist.  Those who know me are probably very glad to know I have a therapist!  I do indeed.  We meet daily.  Office hours are always open.  There is no charge.  Well, actually there is, but Someone else has paid it in full.  The counsel is always right.  Not that I always agree, at least not at first sometimes, but I have never known my therapist to be wrong.  I have often found His counsel to be the opposite of what worldly “therapy” would say.  It isn’t about me.  It isn’t about my past, wounds in my soul someone else has inflicted, grievances I have about ill treatment I have received, etc.  God knows all those things.  What He offers is not the absence of troubles but the presence of Himself.  He gives something better, more stable, and enduring than momentary relief from stress.  He gives peace – not as the world gives, but HIS peace (John 14:27; 16:33) and that peace surpasses all human understanding (Philippians 4:6-7). 

It should be no surprise that God is the ideal counselor.  After all, it is He who made us!  He knows everything about us from conception to our last breath and beyond (Psalm 139).  Also, think about the word “psychology.”  We know the ending (ology) points to the study of something.  Biology is the study of life.  Psychology is the study of the soul.  The Greek word psuche means “soul.”  The study of the soul.  Who better to turn to than He who formed it, guides it, saves it, nurtures it?

All this came to mind today because I was reading through the OT prophet Isaiah.  In chapter 30, verse 1 we read “Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord, who take counsel, but not of Me, and who devise plans, but not of My Spirit…”  When we start looking for counsel outside of God’s counsel or instead of God’s counsel, we are not only foolish, we are rebellious.  God’s counsel is not always what we want to hear.  But it is always right.  It is always best.  It is what will bring good to me and glory to Him.  When I go outside of His counsel, neither of those things happen.  So why in the world would I seek for counsel elsewhere?  The rest of verse 1 gives the underlying reason “…that they may add sin to sin.”  When I don’t want God’s counsel, meaning I don’t want God’s way, it is because I prefer my own self-centered, self-serving choices.  I want what I want!  But when I turn to God, I find that He “is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance” (Isaiah 28:29).  Yes, I have a therapist who psychoanalyzes me (i.e. does “soul analysis”), and His name is God.

But it is essential that we not simply see God as some kind of celestial therapist or great guru in the sky.  Sure, we can go to Him with our problems.  He hears and He has answers.  But only when we have dealt with our biggest problem – that which separates us from God – our sin (Isaiah again…chapter 59, verses 1-2).  When we see God for Who He is we are finally able to see ourselves for who we are (read Isaiah 6!!).  When we see God for Who He is we find that He is glorious beyond comprehension, He is sovereign over all His works, Lord of all, completely holy.  He is, in fact, holy, holy, holy.  Although He gives counsel, He is so much more than a therapist.  When we see that, when we get a sense of His glory and greatness, we begin to understand that to seek any other counsel would be an idol of the heart (Exekiel 14:2-7).

Heavenly Visions?

Check out the following site:  www.tinyurl.com/yxewot  and let me know what you think

Why Christians Suffer

Why Christians Suffer

Part One 

     In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7)

(the following is excerted from the book Gold Under Fire, by Gary Crandall, a PleasantWord publication, 2005)

     It was barely dawn as the women set about their grim task. The burial spices they had prepared the day and evening before constituted their precious cargo. Perhaps they tried to brace themselves for the awful sight which most assuredly awaited them: the scarred body of their dead Lord. What they found instead seemed for the moment even more disastrous. The stone was rolled away and the body of Jesus was gone. “Why?!” resounded in their already broken hearts.

Looking back on this resurrection event through enlightened eyes, we see a glorious moment. We realize the victory that was won there. We celebrate this event dramatically every spring. We may have a hard time identifying with the feeling of perplexity these women experienced.

A careful look at Luke 24:4 may help us understand these women and ourselves better. The verse explains what was happening inside their hearts and minds. We are told: “And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood beside them in shining garments.” We are chiefly concerned with the word “perplexed.” It is the English translation of a Greek word that means literally “to be without a way.” It was used in a variety of fashions to indicate being at a loss, in doubt, or uncertain.¹  If we plug this idea back into the verse, we begin to see the frustration these women experienced. Something terrible had happened and they were at a loss. They were completely “without a way” to explain the empty tomb. The overbearing question which loomed before them was why? Why? Why?!

In my years as a pastor I have been asked that question more than any other. I have asked it myself more than once. It is a frank and often frustrating admission on our part that we are “without a way” to explain what has transpired in our lives.

In my first year as a pastor, the husband and father of a family in the church died. They knew he was in heaven. They knew his suffering was over. They knew God was with them. But all that knowledge did not answer their “whys.” Why did he have to die now? Why did he have to die in that manner? Why did he have to leave them? Why did God allow it to happen? Why did they have to go through this? As I was bombarded with these questions, I could only offer a lamentable “I don’t know” and wonder myself why such things happen. I felt like a man in a cave looking for a star. In knew that the answers, if they existed at all, did not lie within me. Although I had wondered “why” before, now my search began in earnest to discover both the answer to “why” and the way to respond.

Is it okay to ask “why”? Before we answer that question, we need to understand that it is not okay to question God’s goodness or knowledge or judgment or power. We must agree with the Psalmist that “As for God, His way is perfect” (Psalm 18:30). It is not okay to substitute knowledge for faith. Ultimately, what is most important is not that we know but that God knows. It is not okay if our attitude is one of demanding instead of humble request. Our goal must be to bring into focus God’s purpose, not to call into question God’s authority. Beyond such limits, however, the question “why” is not only appropriate, it is often necessary. Was it important for the women to know why the tomb was empty? Yes! It was part of God’s plan for them. Notice that they had the privilege of being the first ones to proclaim the risen Lord!

We may not always be able to understand “why.” That, however, is based upon our own limitations and does not invalidate the question. In fact, since God often uses adversity as a teaching tool, it is helpful to ask, “why am I experiencing this difficulty?”

The quest before us is not for more information. The quest is to know God better, to seek to discern His purpose, and to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

Stay tuned for more

or check out www.growingingrace.net