Christmas Calibration

My heart and mind do not normally, automatically know and understand the mind of God. My heart and mind are bent to my own desires, my own wanting, understanding, thinking, having, doing. There is nothing in my natural way of life that thinks like God, wants what God wants, does what God would do. Even if it looks or sounds good to others, my motives are often self-seeking and self-exalting, much to my chagrin. 

If the goal is how others perceive me, I can fool a lot of people a lot of the time.

If the goal is how I perceive myself, I can also fool that person a lot of the time.

But what if that's not the goal? What if, all these years, all these moments and days, we've missed the goal?

Matthew 1:33 says, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”

God with us. God will join us here. In this place. On earth. In the muck and mire, the sickness and decay, the wormwood and gal.

That was His promise to Israel:

Therefore Adonai Himself will give you a sign:

Behold, the virgin will conceive.
When she is giving birth to a son,
she will call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

That is His promise for the end of time:

I also heard a loud voice from the throne, saying,

“Behold, the dwelling of God is among men,
and He shall tabernacle among them.

They shall be His people,
and God Himself shall be among them
and be their God...." (Revelation 21:3)

The goodness, the promise, the goal of God is not life without sin. It is not a life of fulfilled desires or a lack of unmet needs. The ultimate goal is God Himself--His presence, His dwelling, or living with, me. With you. Simply being. Being in the presence of and with Almighty God.

That requires forgiveness of sin. It will result in all things beautiful, pain-free and fulfilled. Those are the by-products, or results, of God's presence, not the goal. 

This advent season, refocus. If God's greatest gift is being with us, that is what He values most. Being. Being who He created us to be. Existing as He would. The goal is not doing. Not giving. Not performing. I need time with God, in His Word, speaking to and listening to Him as a means of allowing Him to change my thinking, words, and behavior: enjoying Him throughout my moments and days. That, then, is how I come alongside and love others with less interference from my natural bent; my inclination to impress, do, perform, win, be heard and seen. 

This Christmas season is a time to recalibrate my thinking to one of enjoying the gift of being with God and others. It is time to value time, not outcomes. People, not performance. Being, not doing.

Another Gospel

Our churches are full of adults who were taught, "Obey your parents... that all will go well with you."

One woman told me, "When things were going wrong at our church and we were suffering, I thought it was my fault." She, like others, has been taught that those in authority are right. Those under authority must capitulate or accommodate leadership--and all will be well. This was not a prideful way of puffing herself up, it is a learned response to suffering. "I did something wrong. If only I figure it out, good things will result." In other words, it's a prosperity gospel that has infected our churches. "If I do right, good things happen; if I do wrong, bad things happen."

Another individual said, "It's not fair that God allowed these things to happen. I did the right thing and I'm the one being punished, not the person whose mistreating me and misleading others."

In all of this, God is twisted to be untrustworthy, un-good, capricious, showing favoritism. He is seen as un-God and man-like. This happens when Scripture is misused to accomplish the agenda or goal of some/one at the expense of others.

God is not like that. The entirety of the counsel of God's Word does not promote that. But in the time since the American moral response to war, that has been the message. "Do right to avoid bad things." To avoid war, we must seek God and do what is right. To avoid evil in government (i.e. Nazism, Vietnam, corruption, Communism), we must do right. To avoid the evils of society (i.e. the hippie movement, make love not war) we must separate ourselves.

The problem is that those solutions are man-based. We want to do right and seek God, but His favor is not the result of our efforts. Bad things continue to happen. Seeking God did not protect Abel from Cain's wrath. Seeking God did not remove Abram from the desert--it drove him there. Seeking God did not provide an escape from the cross--it took Christ there.

In the words of my friend, Pastor Warren Lamb, "God's protection is not always a protection from; it is often a protection through. While God may not protect us from difficulty (indeed, as Job's story teaches, He often ordains difficulty for our good) or even horrible circumstances, He will always protect us through each and every moment of life." (Unbound, Truth in Love Biblical Counseling, p. 97-98)

What has been adopted by many, including those in traditional biblical counseling, is the "think right + act right = a right outcome." But the outcome can be twisted, depending on the individual using it. In truth, the outcome may be suffering.  Unfortunately, this equation is used by individuals in authority, with resources and influence, to manipulate and coerce their own desired outcome. This is grooming. Teaching congregants, women, and children to submit for the purpose of controlling them and using them is wrong. The Bible word is "oppression" and God hates those who use His Word and character to subjugate others. 

Other Bible words for individuals who use "another gospel"--this prosperity gospel of "do this and you will get that" are: wolves in sheep's clothing, false teachers, dangerous reefs, shepherds who only look after themselves, waterless clouds, trees without fruit, wild waves of the sea, wandering stars, discontented grumblers who flatter others for their own advantage. (Jude)

Beware, my friends. When you see or hear someone teaching Dudley Do-Right philosophy, look more closely. What do they stand to gain? What are they trying to accomplish? Who or what is the wizard behind the veil? Don't believe the images on the screen until you know who's pulling the levers.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock? You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened animals, but you do not tend the flock. You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered. My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking for them.

“‘Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. As I live—this is the declaration of the Lord God—because my flock, lacking a shepherd, has become prey and food for every wild animal, and because my shepherds do not search for my flock, and because the shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord!

“‘This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand my flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue my flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.

“‘For this is what the Lord God says: See, I myself will search for my flock and look for them. As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and total darkness. I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will tend them in good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel’s lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will tend my flock and let them lie down. This is the declaration of the Lord God. I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice. (Ezekiel 34:1-16)

Inside Out

If you're like me, you may have noticed all the nice Scripture decor in stores, homes, and churches. They make us feel good. But often, we read and apply them inside out. They don't fit quite right, but we try to make them say and mean what was never intended.

Funny side story (if you're interested--if not skip this paragraph and keep going, but it relates to the topic at hand); We focused on Scripture as our children were growing up and they noticed it was used in greeting cards, etc. One Sunday afternoon they were inspired to cut slips of paper and write Scripture references. It was close to Valentine's Day so with each Valentine, I included one of their hand-written notes. Weeks (months?) later, out of curiosity I looked up the references.

I don't remember the exact verses, but they were similar to Jeremiah 5:6*, Judges 8:19**, Colossian 6:13, etc. I read them, and was both puzzled and horrified. "Did you read the actual verses you wrote down?" No. No, of course they didn't. 

All that to say, it's easy to misread and misuse Scripture. 

This morning, as I read about Stephen's discourse in Acts 7, I thought of how many times people seeking deliverance refer to stories of Moses, God's promise to Israel in Jeremiah 29:11, or the conversion of Saul. Those are amazing stories! God has shown Himself powerful and strong to save.

And there's the rub--instead of putting ourselves into Scripture that is narrative in style, that recounts a specific person and situation--we would do far better to pull God off the page and focus on His wonder and grace. This God does not necessarily rescue us from a difficult situation, but shows His might and grace by seeing us through the situation.

The psalmist wrote, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."? He didn't set up camp and break out lawn chairs. He kept walking, moving forward, trusting his Shepherd to lead him to the other side.

Ephesians says God's mystery (the gospel, the purchase of our souls at the cost of Jesus' life and the inclusion of Gentiles) "... is so that God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens." (Ephesians 3:10). 

God's power is displayed in His work through us--and in us. His Spirit changes and transforms us supernaturally. Not magically, but surely.

Today, take heart that, whether or not your circumstances change, God is working to change you. He is able. He is He who says He is and He will do what He says He will do. Instead of reading your Bible, looking longingly at people He delivered, look at the God who worked deliverance. Yes, He will and does deliver, that is what He does, but in the process, He is doing a much greater work. He is leading you to change--to depend on Him, to see the way He sees, to think the way He thinks, to act in accordance with His character instead of your own.

When you read your Bible right-side out, it fits much better!

 *"Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them, A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them; A leopard will watch over their cities. Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many; Their backslidings have increased." (Jeremiah 5:6)

**Then he said, “They were my brothers, the sons of my mother. As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.” (Judges 8:19)

Wisdom is Not Nice

Many times I read about the waiting virgins and oil, aghast that the wise would not share with the foolish. When the groom came in the middle of the night and the foolish virgins asked, the wise virgins said, "No, there won't be enough for us and for you. Go instead to those who sell oil, and buy some for yourselves." (Matthew 25:1-13)

My initial response would have been to share--or to give up my place in line. Isn't that what Jesus did? He gave His life for me, the least I could do is give to others. Or that's what I was taught. That's what I believed and lived.

The problem is that Jesus' purpose and intent was the cross. He was obedient to His Father in giving His life. And He gave His life once--once for all. Once for all time. Once for all people. Once.

God did not create me to give to everyone, all the time. 

That is what many children are taught. That is what women are taught. It is what people say. But it isn't right. Or biblical. Or wise. And, often, it is taught for the ease, convenience and benefit of those with authority--not for the benefit of those in their care or under their authority.

Instead, regardless of my gender, position and station in life, God has given me responsibility.

The parable that follows this one (Matthew 25:14-30) is about a man who entrusted his possessions to his servants. In the time he was gone, the servants didn't give them willy-nilly to those in need or want. They stewarded, invested, and multiplied them with the exception of the one who hid the talent and did nothing.

The body God gave me is mine to steward. Not foolishly spend. Not foolishly give away.

The mind God gave me is mine to steward and use to wisely multiply God's goodness. 

The Spirit/spirit God has given me is mine to steward in ways that accurately reflect the Giver.

The strength God gives me is mine to steward in ways that reflect Jesus' earthly life, values, and ministry.

When/If I piddle them away or give them to fools, I am not using them the way God intended, for the purpose of righteousness. 

When I am nice, I use what God has given to feel good about myself momentarily. These good feelings are based on a fickle reaction of others. Being nice is nothing more than manipulating an outcome that paints me in a good light. But it is not sustainable. It is not healthy for me because it isn't authentic or true. It isn't loving. And it isn't godly stewardship.

When we teach people to be nice, to give to everyone, all the time, especially those in authority, we create an ungodly, human, sinful system. When those with fewer resources are punished for not giving or for not doing what is asked, it's time to step back and look at the process that got them there.

God does not call anyone--not His people, not the poor, weak, those under authority--to give to fools. Instead, He instructs us to guard our hearts, to discipline our bodies, to renew our minds. Then, from a place of stability and strength, one day we will hear Him say, "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothes me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.... Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25: 36-36, 40)

These are outcomes of discipline and wise living. Wisdom is not nice.