8
Jun
It's because of Wickedness
I stumbled across Deuteronomy 9:4-5 this morning during my scripture reading.
“ 4 “After the Lord your God has done this for you, don’t say in your hearts, `The Lord has given us this land because we are such good people!’ No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way.5 It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land. The Lord your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.””
Just before Israel is to cross into the Promised Land God reminds them that they really did nothing to get this opportunity. In fact, they did a lot of stuff as a nation up to this point that really disqualified a vast number of people, including Moses, from actually getting this opportunity.
I find myself in the Israelites position often. I need reminded that the Promised Lands of my life are not there because of anything I have done. Much of the reason I am given these Promised Lands is because of the wickedness of people.
Look at our adoption process as one example. One child we are to adopt lost her father and is losing her mother to AIDS. I’m not sure how they transmitted the disease, but something tells me it was promiscuity. The other two lost their father, and their mother lives in a desperate situation. While I was in Uganda in 2007 there were headlines detailing how wealthy the cabinet of the government was becoming. I also saw how a little cash can go a long way with government officials. Yet the only option for this mother was to give her children away because the one responsible for protecting her and providing for the family was no longer alive. That all sounds pretty wicked, doesn’t it?
I need to keep in perspective that no matter how long it takes us to finally realize the dream of raising these children, that we are only getting this opportunity because of the wickedness of the world, and because God is entrusting us with the responsibility to redeem a little piece of that.
As a leader in the church I have to also keep in perspective that the only reason I get to preach, teach, etc. is because there is a wickedness that needs to be redeemed. It is far less because I am gifted to do either of those things. For if the world was without wickedness, then all we’d be doing is worship.
13
May
Filters
I’m a scientist by occupation. We use filters for all kids of things. Sometimes it’s to keep what get’s trapped on the filter, and sometimes it’s to get rid of what you don’t want.
Filters come in all different shapes, sizes, and can be made to filter light or nanoparticles. It’s amazing what can happen to an experiment if a sample sees the wrong wavelength of light, or what happens to a material’s properties if some bad stuff isn’t removed. In short it can litterally fall apart or blow up.
In the church I often wonder if we forget just how valuable the filter can be. In our hurry to make as many people as we can “citizens of heaven” we forget to check their passports and visas. We fail to ask them hard questions, and demand lifestyle changes. We fail to follow up on failure and success. And as long as the numbers get bigger we excuse it all because surely God wouldn’t let us grow if we were doing it the wrong way.
Of course if we’re running the church more like GM then why wouldn’t he let it become a completely dysfunctional monumental failure.
Now, I fully believe that the church is meant to grow…and yes by the thousands in a day. However, I also believe that in many instances the church should be pruning 10 and 20 at a time as people who claim to be Christian become sexually immoral, greedy…”I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people. (1 Corinthians 5:9, New Living Translation)
Our filters at the front end should be asking people tough questions to ensure that they aren’t going to be standing in a Matthew 7 line. On the back end we need to have filters that help the church to continue to purify herself. When people choose to indulge in the sins mentioned it will be their casting out of the church that leads them to repentance. It’s a hard teaching, but in reality we are loving them by casting them out in hopes that they return repentant. Only then should we grant them the gift of fellowship. By letting them continue to fellowship without repentance could end up having eternal impact on them and on others within the body of Christ.
I think it is why we see such dramatic commands to deal with some sins in the nation of Israel. It’s also why God commands to kill every human. God knew that a little sin left without repentance could lead a whole nation astray.
We have a responsibility as leaders to make sure we are as devoting to growing the body as we are to protecting her.