Sunday, August 30, 2009

Shortcuts

0 comments


One point in this morning's sermon was about the temptation to take shortcuts. The devil tempted Christ to enjoy all the kingdoms of the earth without the bother of going to the cross and redeeming mankind.

I was reminded of shortcuts today when I happened to look at a Christian Book Distributors catalog that came in the mail this week. The slogan for the company -- something I'd never noticed before -- is "Everything Christian ... for Less." I think the reason I hadn't noticed this slogan is that it is new. Not long ago the slogan was, Serving the Christian Community for 30 years.

Everything Christian .. for less?

Well, let's see. Salvation for less. Holiness for less. Faith for less. Love for less.

Salvation. I can see that one. Let's just cut out the troublesome Jesus part or the repentence part or the believe part and let me just say a few comfortable words here and there or ease right into a church or two. I don't want to bother with all that backwards and unpopular talk about sin or figure out who that Jesus guy was. Let's just fast forward to the eternal life part.

Holiness. Be ye a little bit better than you used to be for I am Holy? Set your eyes on things a little farther down the road than you are now, for your life is hid somewhere? Seek first a little more comfortable station in life and all these things will be added to you?

Faith. Forget subduing kingdoms. We'll just blog against government policy a little. Forget working righteousness. We'll just not make too many waves. Forget obtaining promises. We'll get by with the ones we already have. Forget stopping the mouths of lions. We'll just back away slowly, thanks. Quenching the violence of fire? You know, fire is a pretty decent heat source sometimes. Escaping the edge of the sword? I don't like to think about weapons; we won't go there. Out of strength, we'll be made weak. We'll wax valiant in flight, not fight.

Love. For less. I'll suffer a little while, if it isn't too much trouble. I'll try not to envy too very much. I'll try not to be provoked unless you really, really bother me. I'll seek my own way, but I'll do it with a smile.

Somehow, everything Christian for less doesn't sound all that Christian at all.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Peeling Paint

0 comments


After years of neglect, the paint on our house was peeling big time, especially on the north side. Long strips of bare wood stood exposed to the elements and public view. I felt sorry for our neighbors who had to look at this eyesore each day. But the prospect of all the work involved in fixing it up was overwhelming.

Finally, after a couple of different plans of attack, we've hired a paint crew to do most of the work. But even with help, it's going to mean lots of noise, lots of mess and many days of raw, exposed boards.

I often think it would be so much easier if we could just spray paint over what's there. Why scrape? Can't you just kind of wipe and paint over what's on the wood already? It would save so much time and effort if you could save the paint that's on the wood now, and simply add new paint to it.

But anyone with a little experience knows you can't do it that way. Soon the new paint would peel off with the old, and the house would continue to deteriorate.

It would be nice to think of the weathered look as a style choice. Doesn't a half painted house carry a certain charm? No? What if House Beautiful did a cover spread on the chic new style statement of half-painted houses? Surely after that, everyone would want one. People would be outside, scraping paint off in just such a way to make it look "weathered," giving it the stylish aging and weather-beaten feel.

Others would pay workers to remove steel and aluminum siding to get back that charming, half-painted look they covered up.

Somehow I can't see it.

The truth is, the old paint has to go. In order to preserve the wood, the old paint has to be stripped bare and primed. Only then can it be repainted. It's work, it hurts, it looks terrible for a while, it makes a mess, it's expensive, but it has to be done.

Same with our lives. We know love covers a multitude of sins. But sometimes we forget the scraping part (repentence) or the priming part (prayer). We just want God to hurry up and make us perfect. Can't you just spray holiness over the whole house, God?

He tells us that you don't stitch new material onto an old garment and you don't put new wine into old bottles. You can't do things the quicko, EZ, no pain way and hope it's going to work.

The sin has to be scraped off.

Fortunately, His blood strips sin away better than any pressure washer or paint thinner. It still hurts, though. It hurts Him, and it hurts us.

And sometimes it's pretty time consuming, as he exposes first one bare board and then another. But if we focus on the finished product, the gleaming, sparkling, fresh coat of redemption, all the prep work will appear in proper perspective and it won't seem like all that much of a trial when we look back at it later.

New coat, new day, new LIFE, new way.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Lost in Aisle 3

1 comments


I looked down at my shopping cart after picking up a carton of orange juice at Target today and noticed about fifty pairs of shoes. There was no place for the orange juice. I realiced immediately that way back in the shoe aisle, I must have inadvertently left my own cart and picked up a cart that workers were using to restock the shoe aisle.

Ever since, I'd been wandering through Target with a cart full of shoes, looking like Imelda Marcos on a shopping spree.

It occurred to me that I've done this a time or two spiritually. Somehow, I've left my walk with God in Aisle Three and wandered off, laden with all kinds of useless pursuits. Only later will something (the Holy Spirit?) jar my consciousness with the realization that I am in the wrong place, rolling the wrong cart with the wrong cargo.

I was able to wheel all the shoes back to their proper place and pick up my cart again with only minor embarrassment. With spiritual detours, though, sometimes the embarrassment, and downright humilation, can be pointed.

Jesus said we'd have to give account for every idle word we speak. Idle words, not dangerous or harmful words, though we'll probably have to explain those, too. But in idleness much wrong can be done, even without realizing it.

No wonder he tells us to watch, and to be wise as serpents and to be vigilant.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Choosing this day

0 comments


What god do I serve when I'm not serving God? Two ways to check, I guess. I can write down my schedule for the week and see what I spent the most time on. And I can look at my bank statement and see what I spent the most money on. Those would probably give the best clues to what gods I serve.
Maybe I'm serving myself. Maybe my family. Maybe my house. Maybe I'm serving an image of what I'd like to be or wish I was. Am I trying to impress people by volunteering here, working there, buying this or that? If so, why? Is it because I want them to see how godlike I've made myself?
Am I molding a god? Am I painting myself, painting my house, chipping off flakes I don't want others to see so that this image takes perfect shape? Am I worshiping my car? My brain? My kids? My ideal of what a family should be? Do I worship my work? My status? My reputation? My church?
Anything that isn't God is going to be a huge disappointment. Who did you serve this week? Who did I serve? Was it really God?

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Why I hated Ephesians 4

0 comments


Still seething about a minor injustice, I put aside what I was doing to listen to Art read Ephesians 4. This was now the third evening in a row he read it. The last two times, I listened, but only scraps and bits stuck in my memory. In the evening, we have a family devotions time and it includes a Bible game where Art will begin reading a random passage of scripture. The rest of the family will call out guesses to what book it’s from. This week he kept calling out passages from Eph. 4, and even though he’d just read us the chapter, the kids were calling out “Ephesians” before it clicked in my mind that I had just heard this passage.

But on this one night, after boiling in fury, I was stung by Ephesians 4. I was jolted into shame and humility by Ephesians 4. (Boil, sting, jolt: How are those for mixed metaphors?) Walk worthy of your calling, with all lowliness and meekness, it said to me. I was not lowly or meek. I was incensed. This blog commenter had insulted me. He’d deliberately misrepresented what I’d said on the blog I was visiting. I had thought of all kinds of replies. Verbal slaps. Clever rejoinders. Biting wit complete with sharp teeth. Not many of my imagined replies were lowly or meek.

I was not doing much to keep the unity of spirit, and I was openly hostile to the bond of peace. I was not speaking the truth in love. I was quite sure I was speaking the truth, but rather than love, I was planning on speaking it in a sly, cutting, put-down kind of way. Ephesians 4 said no. Nuh-uh.

And what was this about the Vanity of your mind? That was one of the few Eph. 4 phrases that stuck: Don’t walk as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their minds. Well, here I was walking in the vanity of my mind. What else would you call trying to come up with a clever, sophisticated retort?

Put off the behavior of the old man and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Zing. Be renewed. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.

Be renewed in the spirit of my mind? Well, the spirit of my mind at that moment was a pretty dark and angry spirit, absolutely ripe for renewal. Don’t let any corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. And that probably refers to fingertips on keyboards as well. Ugh. Ephesians 4, don’t you ever let up? I was just about to come crashing down on this self-righteous blog commenter and show him a thing or two! Uggh. Ephesians 4, Why now?

No corrupt communications out of your mouth, but only that which builds up, which ministers grace to the hearers. Grace? This guy just insulted me! Grace? Now? At this moment? Right when I’m about to let the verbal hammer drop? Arrrgh. Ephesians 4!

And it went on! Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Let all bitterness, anger, clamor, wrath and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. But couldn’t I keep just a little malice? Just enough to drive home my point? Arrgh. Ephesians 4!

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you. Ouch. Sting. Bite.

Needless to say, I never did reply to that commenter, and my interest in the blog itself somehow faded. I had to work on being renewed. Before that could happen I had to let the words of Ephesians 4 pummel me, lay me flat and do to me pretty much what I’d hoped to do to the blog commenter. Ugh. You can’t develop humility without a little humiliation. But you can’t get to the renewing of your mind part without humility.

When Art reads Eph. 4 tonight, I hope I’ll let it sink in nice and deep this time because I have a feeling I’m going to need it again soon.