What does it mean today that the Lord is not constrained to save by many or by few (1 Samuel 14.6)? Surely it means the same as in Jonathan's day—God will fight our battles and will win for us, no matter if we are many or few, if it is in his will to win—but what is the application for us? We are not part of God's army doing God's work through physical battle. Does not Paul say that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers (Ephesians 6.10)?
I think the application here is to spiritual battles, whether that be a battle on a personal level, or whether it be on a social level, in other words the battle for another person's soul, or a spiritual battle in the church. God is fully capable of using one person or many persons to bring about spiritual victory in the lives of people whom we least expect to come to faith, or to be swayed by our arguments or efforts. Jonathan had a sign from God, we have the promises of God (in the Scriptures). God is the same. He is not constrained to save by many or by few.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Dark Night of the Soul
Dan Cummings who is a pastor in suburban Detroit has a nasty form of cancer, a life-threatening form of cancer. His latest blog post discusses the valley of the shadow of death through which he is walking:
C.S. Lewis in A Grief Observed expresses what so many, including me, experience in the dark night of the soul: “Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him…you will be—or so it feels—welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as [well] turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become.”
I have no answer for this, only humble silence. Lewis is correct of course and the life of the Psalmists generally support him (Psalms 42:3). Surely Joseph went through a dark night of the soul when he was thrown into prison by Potiphar with no hope of any help since the only people who knew he was in prison hated him. There is some solace in the fact that it is a common experience, that other's have gone through it, that when I experience it, I am not alone in the experience.
C.S. Lewis in A Grief Observed expresses what so many, including me, experience in the dark night of the soul: “Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him…you will be—or so it feels—welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as [well] turn away. The longer you wait, the more emphatic the silence will become.”
I have no answer for this, only humble silence. Lewis is correct of course and the life of the Psalmists generally support him (Psalms 42:3). Surely Joseph went through a dark night of the soul when he was thrown into prison by Potiphar with no hope of any help since the only people who knew he was in prison hated him. There is some solace in the fact that it is a common experience, that other's have gone through it, that when I experience it, I am not alone in the experience.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
The Christian and Culture
Social critic Jacques Ellul issues a challenge we should heed: “The Christian has a prophetic mission to try to think before events become inevitable.” (Doug Groothius)
I've been pondering this issue some. I believe what Mr. Ellul meant was that we of all people should be thinking ahead about issues so that when we address them we speak prophetically. In some ways we have done this—abortion comes to mind—in other ways we have not. Take television for example, or cyberspace, or our addiction to entertainment. Have we really thought through the long term implications of giving ourselves over, night after night, to sitting in front of a box that projects electronic sounds and image at us? How does this affect the soul? Our interaction with our neighbors? Our own development?
We don't know because we've never given it any thought, and what affects us will affect the culture at large, only more so.
I've been pondering this issue some. I believe what Mr. Ellul meant was that we of all people should be thinking ahead about issues so that when we address them we speak prophetically. In some ways we have done this—abortion comes to mind—in other ways we have not. Take television for example, or cyberspace, or our addiction to entertainment. Have we really thought through the long term implications of giving ourselves over, night after night, to sitting in front of a box that projects electronic sounds and image at us? How does this affect the soul? Our interaction with our neighbors? Our own development?
We don't know because we've never given it any thought, and what affects us will affect the culture at large, only more so.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Solzhenitsyn on Sacrifice
This is an excerpt from Solzhenitsyn's Nobel Prize lecture. It is an astounding lecture.
The spirit of Munich has by no means retreated into the past; it was not merely a brief episode. I even venture to say that the spirit of Munich prevails in the Twentieth Century. The timid civilized world has found nothing with which to oppose the onslaught of a sudden revival of barefaced barbarity, other than concessions and smiles. The spirit of Munich is a sickness of the will of successful people, it is the daily condition of those who have given themselves up to the thirst after prosperity at any price, to material well-being as the chief goal of earthly existence. Such people - and there are many in today's world - elect passivity and retreat, just so as their accustomed life might drag on a bit longer, just so as not to step over the threshold of hardship today - and tomorrow, you'll see, it will all be all right. (But it will never be all right! The price of cowardice will only be evil; we shall reap courage and victory only when we dare to make sacrifices.)
He was, unfortunately, absolutely correct. Prosperity breeds inevitably a lack of will because all we want is to be comfortable, to avoid trouble. There are some things more important than my own personal peace. Or as Kevin Costner's character put it in Open Range: "There's things that gnaw at a man worse than dying."
The spirit of Munich has by no means retreated into the past; it was not merely a brief episode. I even venture to say that the spirit of Munich prevails in the Twentieth Century. The timid civilized world has found nothing with which to oppose the onslaught of a sudden revival of barefaced barbarity, other than concessions and smiles. The spirit of Munich is a sickness of the will of successful people, it is the daily condition of those who have given themselves up to the thirst after prosperity at any price, to material well-being as the chief goal of earthly existence. Such people - and there are many in today's world - elect passivity and retreat, just so as their accustomed life might drag on a bit longer, just so as not to step over the threshold of hardship today - and tomorrow, you'll see, it will all be all right. (But it will never be all right! The price of cowardice will only be evil; we shall reap courage and victory only when we dare to make sacrifices.)
He was, unfortunately, absolutely correct. Prosperity breeds inevitably a lack of will because all we want is to be comfortable, to avoid trouble. There are some things more important than my own personal peace. Or as Kevin Costner's character put it in Open Range: "There's things that gnaw at a man worse than dying."
Monday, August 04, 2008
Get Busy Living...or Get Busy Dying
I'm working on a novel and had cause to think about the movie The Shawshank Redemption during the latest chapter. I love the line where Red tells Andy (who is new to the prison),
"you can get busy living...or get busy dying." In other words, you can accept your circumstances and deal with them, or you can start dying today, and it will be a long and bitter death.
It's a good philosophy to live out. We can't choose much of our circumstances or of the events that come our way, but we can choose to accept them as they are and deal with them. One of the things I need to model for my kids is exactly what Red was saying in the movie. I need to model how to "get busy living" no matter what my particular circumstances.
OBTW, The Shawshank Redemption is a great movie.
"you can get busy living...or get busy dying." In other words, you can accept your circumstances and deal with them, or you can start dying today, and it will be a long and bitter death.
It's a good philosophy to live out. We can't choose much of our circumstances or of the events that come our way, but we can choose to accept them as they are and deal with them. One of the things I need to model for my kids is exactly what Red was saying in the movie. I need to model how to "get busy living" no matter what my particular circumstances.
OBTW, The Shawshank Redemption is a great movie.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Dark Knight
Yep, watched it. I actually thought it was a pretty good movie, mostly because it explored themes deeper than "how many buildings and vehicles can we blow up in one movie." The movie dialed down into the nature of good and evil and how good ought to confront evil. It also explored the morality of fighting evil with evil. Interesting.
While I don't agree with the way the movie worked out all these themes, it is nice to see a film that ponders meaning beyond simple entertainment, and Dark Knight to it's credit, did just that.
Oh, and Heath Ledger, despite all the hype, was incredible as The Joker. Sad to see such a wasted life. Too bad people won't learn from it.
While I don't agree with the way the movie worked out all these themes, it is nice to see a film that ponders meaning beyond simple entertainment, and Dark Knight to it's credit, did just that.
Oh, and Heath Ledger, despite all the hype, was incredible as The Joker. Sad to see such a wasted life. Too bad people won't learn from it.
More on Marriage
I had the privilege of speaking at the wedding of Josh Sawyer, one of the guys that Cherie and I have seen go all the way from 7-12 grade in the youth group (and then on to two years at NTM Bible school in Jackson). I labored over those 5 minutes, wording and rewording it again and again because I just couldn't get it "right." I ended up framing it around Roman 1.16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
I wanted to communicate the cross-centered, Christ-exalting nature of marriage. In the process I got to think back over my own marriage and thank the Lord for Cherie and for 24 awesome years with her. God was very good to bring us together and very good to allow us these years of close companionship. I couldn't imagine life without her. I rely on her for advice and for comfort and as a sounding board, not to mention as my biking partner. Funny how the "I" of being single gave way to the "we" of marriage so easily. I've always compared living single with living married as going from like in black and white, to life in color.
Thanks beautiful!
I wanted to communicate the cross-centered, Christ-exalting nature of marriage. In the process I got to think back over my own marriage and thank the Lord for Cherie and for 24 awesome years with her. God was very good to bring us together and very good to allow us these years of close companionship. I couldn't imagine life without her. I rely on her for advice and for comfort and as a sounding board, not to mention as my biking partner. Funny how the "I" of being single gave way to the "we" of marriage so easily. I've always compared living single with living married as going from like in black and white, to life in color.
Thanks beautiful!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)