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Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Devotional Thought

The following is a devotional though from my friend, Tyler LeVan. He is currently serving God on a short term mission trip in Kenya.

"So who wants to write about sin? Who wants to write about the wrath of God? If that is the end of it then no one does. However, if it can help provide understanding of God, and if it magnifies God's grace, love and mercy, and if it is the very reality of our condition and His holiness then we must discuss it or just foolishly choose to deceive ourselves. So it is for our good that the book of Romans starts here. It is vital to the gospel and it is vital to us having a deep-rooted gospel joy in Christ. Let me say at the start that I do not understand this book. It is so deep and so beautiful that the greatest theological minds have spent years swimming in it only to never find the bottom. However, I want to just gleam some truths from it so we can taste just a bit of the sweetness of Christ that is found here. The glory of God is first and foremost in scope here. However, the good news for us is that that is just what we need to know a deep satisfaction in our hearts and to one day have eternal bliss with Him. So we began with one more text of introduction and then we go to Romans.

Take a second to consider Luke 7:36-50. There are two people here, an immoral woman and a Pharisee. If you read the story you find the woman weeping at the feet of Jesus and the Pharisee pridefully looking at the situation with disapproval toward them both. Jesus then responds to him with a parable. In the parable there are two people that have a debt. One owes $10 and the other owes $1,000,000. Jesus says they are both forgiven and asks who would love more. The answer is obvious and the Pharisee answers correctly. Then Jesus says that the immoral woman has been forgiven of her many sins. He then says, “she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Did the self-centered, self-righteous, self-motivated Pharisee really only have little sin to be forgiven? Isn't this the type of person we see Jesus actively opposing throughout the gospels? Or perhaps, is it just that he was failing to realize the depravity of his heart and saw himself as a “pretty good person” in light of the woman who was most likely a prostitute?

We have this problem in America. Our Christian mindset is almost one of, “I was a pretty good person but Jesus just helped me out a bit and now I am a Christian.” We have taken the light and fluffy points of Christianity and tried to make it our religion. If you look at the numb, dull and dying church of America you will clearly see that it is not working. We have created a Jesus that just pets squirrels, stands under rainbows and offers His love as a means to give us a boost to live a moral, comfortable, self-absorbed life. We have gotten away from “rejoicing with trembling (Ps. 2:11)”. We have become man-centered and God is just someone who serves us. We are all about success, self-esteem, self-confidence. We are all about us and nowhere in the equation is this notion that God is the one who created us and only in Him can we find the very purpose for why we exist. We have decided that we can decide for ourselves what He is like and how He deals with us. If we want Him to be distant then we make Him distant. If we all of sudden see that He can offer us something to benefit our lives then He becomes our little assistant in the sky who is just a means to our gain. If we want a religion that lets us get high or be gay or live our lives in greed well we will just invent one or maybe just amend the one we now have. A man-centered theology permeates America inside and outside the church. Think about it, the very phrase is an oxymoron. He is God and we are not. We have not known that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Prov. 9:10).” We have neglected the horror and seriousness of sin. We have belittled the God of the universe. We are so far off and I wonder how are we ever going to get back. How are we going to get back to the joyful, soul-satisfying purpose for which we have been created. Well we have to understand God and ourselves and nowhere are both more clearly seen than in the gospel. So we will start by exploring our sin and His justice next time.

I had full intent of jumping in to Romans this time but my heart began to burn in a different direction. So after three devotional thoughts of intro, possibly we will get to Romans next time. I want to leave you with a quote and a verse to set-up next time and encourage our hearts."

“If we don't understand rightly the depth and evil of our sin then we can never expect to understand the greatness of our Savior.”

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Actions Vs. The Heart

Another story from the wonderful world of ISU Student Dining Services...

Again, I was working in the Dining Center and it was towards the end of my second shift. It's a fairly busy venue with two lines. Each line has mixed veggies, mashed patatoes, peas, gravy, meatloaf, some chicken stuff (looked like soupy type stuff) and biscuits. Around 1:00 or 1:15ish (a relatively popular time to eat lunch), I notice I am the only person working the venue. The full time staff (2 of them) have come to the end of their shifts and the full timer to replace them has yet to show up. The student who is assigned to help me was pulled to help with some other food. Twice a full time person from the office came through without offering help or calling someone else for help. Meanwhile I continue to cook, pan and replenish the food for the hungry students. While doing this I get upset (and rightly so I think/thought). Quickly a verse came to mind, though I don't remember it word for word I will quote it word for word...

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." Philippians 2:14-15

This verse comes to mind a lot while working at student dining :) So I do not complain as the office manager comes through, I don't even ask for help. I feel great about myself... but in my head/heart I'm still upset and not joyful. Next, for the first time in this situation, another verse comes to mind. This is probably because I read it yesterday...

"A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbors deceit."
-Proverbs 26:24

There are probably better verses to reference for my point, but this one worked for me. God is not concerned with the show we put on for others. Dont be mistaken, He is concerned with our actions and they are important since we represent Christ. This makes it important to outwardly represent Christ well. However, God is also highly (and arguably more) concerned with our hearts. If I am kind and nice and humble to everyone I interact with and yet in my heart I harbor hate, pride, and anger God is very much displeased. And if my heart is not right, my actions will not hold up for very long.

So, while my actions, I think, have always been "good" while working at the dining center my heart has definitely not been! I'm glad that I read those verses yesterday and even more glad the Holy Spirit brought them to my mind while working today (conviction). The discipline of the Lord is good. We should welcome it!

"My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in." -Proverbs 3:11-12