Category Archives: Evil and Suffering

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Anxiety and Simplicity by Foster

Here is another excerpt from Foster’s GREAT book: Celebration of Disciplines regarding our struggles with anxiety–

“As Jesus made clear in our central passage, freedom from anxiety is one of the inward evidences of seeking first the kingdom of God. The inward reality of simplicity involves a life of joyful unconcern for possessions….

Freedom from anxiety is characterized by three inner attitudes. If what we have we receive as a gift, and if what we have is to be cared for by God, and if what we have is available to others, then we will possess freedom from anxiety. This is the inward reality of simplicity. However, if what we have we believe we have gotten, and if what we have we believe we must hold onto, and if what we have is not available to others, then we will live in anxiety. Such persons will never know simplicity regardless of the outward contortions they may put themselves through in order to live “the simple life.” To receive what we have as a gift from God is the first inner attitude of simplicity.

To know that it is God’s business, and not ours, to care for what we have is the second inner attitude of simplicity. God is able to protect what we possess. We can trust him.

To have our goods available to others marks the third inner attitude of simplicity. If our goods are not available to the community when it is clearly right and good, then they are stolen goods. The reason we find such an idea so difficult is our fear of the future. We cling to our possessions rather than sharing them because we are anxious about tomorrow. But if we truly believe that God is who Jesus says he is, then we do not need to be afraid. When we come to see God as the almighty Creator and our loving Father, we can share because we know that he will care for us. If someone is in need, we are free to help them.

When we are seeking first the kingdom of God, these three attitudes will characterize our lives. Taken together they define what Jesus means by “do not be anxious.” They comprise the inner reality of Christian simplicity. And we can be certain that when we live this way the “all these things” that are necessary to carry on human life adequately will be ours as well.”


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The Mercy of God in the Old Testament

I continue to search for brief articles pointing out the true God of the O.T.  A friend and fellow physician who has an AMAZING website has a GREAT article summarizing key points: 1. God of O.T. is merciful; 2. God of O.T. NEVER killed innocent people 3. God of O.T. ALWAYS asked/pleaded with people to repent.

I have also cut and pasted it for you here:

The Mercy of God as Found in the Old Testament
by Rich Deem

Introduction

Jonah and God’s Mercy

Most Christians know Jonah as the reluctant prophet who was swallowed by a whale in order for God to convince him to go to Nineveh. Atheists often get caught up in the whale part of the story, not realizing that the story reveals that the ancients believed that God was merciful, although, at time, they often wished He hadn’t been.

Rich Deem

According to Richard Dawkins, Yahweh, the God of the Bible, is “jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”1 Absent from any of Dawkins’ description of God is His mercy. People tend to think of the God of the Old Testament as cruel and unforgiving, whereas the God of the New Testament is seen as the God of mercy, who sent Jesus to atone for the sins of the world. The Old Testament prophets were always warning the people about the wrath of God should they stray from the path of righteousness. However, what is usually ignored by atheists is God’s mercy for those who did repent of doing evil. Yes, God judged many people groups, but not before warning them.

Jonah and God’s mercy?

For those of you who only remember the whale part of Jonah’s story, here is a brief synopsis to get you a better background about Jonah. God called Jonah to travel to the city of Nineveh to warn them about their impending judgment, because of their wickedness.2 Jonah had different ideas, and attempted to flee from God by paying for passage on a foreign ship.3 However, God was not amused and sent a violent storm.4 The sailors were terrified and eventually figured out that Jonah was the cause of their endangerment, which he eventually admitted to them.5 Jonah was thrown overboard and God directed a great fish (or whale – the Hebrew is not that specific) to swallow Jonah and take him to the shore.6 Once expelled from the whale, Jonah decided to do what God had originally requested and travelled to Nineveh to preach repentance from their evil.7

A number of Christians assume Jonah was reluctant to go to Nineveh because they were known for their cruelty, and he feared for his life. However, the account gives a different reason why Jonah did not want to go. Jonah actually wanted God to judge the city of Nineveh and kill all their inhabitants. He was disappointed that the king and the people repented of their evil and were spared from God’s judgment.8 In fact, Jonah was so angry with God that he asked God to kill him.9 After that conversation, Jonah left the city and sat outside of it hoping that God would still destroy the city.10 God caused a plant to grow overnight to give Jonah shade during his watch, but then caused the death of the plant the next day. Jonah was furious about the plant.11 God pointed out that Jonah’s priorities were completely messed up, since he was more concerned about a plant that gave him shade than the fate of 120,000 souls in Nineveh:

Then the LORD said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?” (Jonah 4:10-11)

So, it was clear to Jonah that God was merciful and He would reconsider His judgment of evil if the people repented.12 Since Jonah wanted no part in God’s mercy, he tried to avoid following God’s instructions to warn the people.

Did God warn others?

Atheists would like you to believe that the God of the Old Testament just randomly killed people for no good reason and without warning. It turns out that atheists often don’t present the entire stories about God’s judgment. For example, in the greatest story of judgment, God sent a flood to kill all humanity except Noah and his family. However, Noah preached to the people of the coming judgment during the 100 years he was building the ark.13 In another famous example, God destroyed the cites of Sodom and Gomorrah, because of their evil. In fact, all the men of Sodom (including both young and old) attempted to rape the two angels who came to warn Lot of the impending judgment.14 Although warned,15 the men attempted to harm Lot, but were prevented when the angels caused them all to become blind.16 In many lesser known stories, God warned the people prior to executing judgment. Some of these warnings were heeded17 and others not,18 with the expected consequences. God’s own people were often recipients of God’s judgment, when they refused to heed His warnings.19 Here is a short list from the writings of the prophets:

Prophet Warning to Result
Isaiah Judah Judgment
Jeremiah Judah Judgment
Lamentations Jerusalem Judgment
Ezekiel Jerusalem, Tyre, Egypt Captivity in Babylon
Hosea Israel Judgment
Joel Tyre, Sidon, Philistia Judgment
Amos Israel Judgment
Obadiah Edom Judgment
Jonah Nineveh Repentance
Micah Israel Judgment
Nahum Nineveh Judgment
Habakkuk Judah Judgment
Zephaniah Judah Judgment
Zechariah Tyre, and other cities Judgment

It is a well known principle that God regularly warned people of impending judgment and He personally indicated that He would relent if they changed their ways.12 So, the atheists’ idea that God killed people without warning is false.

Does God kill the innocent?

Did God kill any innocent people along with the evil ones? In the two most famous examples of God’s judgment discussed above, the text clearly says that all the people God killed were evil.20 When God was about to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asked God if He would destroy the cities if there were 50 righteous people in them.21 God said no. Then Abraham asked the same question if there were 45 righteous people. Every time he dropped the number and got the same answer. The fact is that God would not have destroyed those cities if there were any righteous people in them. The few righteous who were in those cities He warned ahead of time to get out.22 In another example, Abimelech, king of Gerar, took Abraham’s wife because he lied saying that she was his sister.23 However, God prevented Abimelech from sleeping with her and warned him in a dream. Abimelech heeded God’s warning and was spared from death.23 Eliphaz the Temanite, in his discussions with Job, acknowledged that God did not judge the innocent with the guilty, but that those who act sinfully will incur God’s judgment.24 So, God does not destroy the righteous along with the evil.

Conclusion Top of page

In numerous instances, atheists cite the Old Testament for examples of where God killed “innocent” people. However, the texts show that the innocent are not judged, but only the guilty. In addition, virtually always, the guilty individuals were warned ahead of time about their sin. Jonah is often known as the reluctant prophet, although the reason for his hesitation was not due to the cruelty of Nineveh, but because he feared its people might repent and God might spare them. Jonah wanted God to kill all the people of Nineveh, but feared His mercy. So, Christians are not the only people who often seem to want to see God judge people for their evil, rather than praying for their reconciliation with God. Jonah reveals that God was known for His mercy even in Old Testament times. Even though God is merciful, His mercy extends only to those who heed His words of warning. There is no toleration for evil in God’s kingdom, so those who insist on testing God’s resolve toward sin will find themselves judged, and incarcerated in God’s jail.


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Yo Adrian: A Pastor from Sri Lanka shares his heart

Pastor Adrian from Sri Lanka came to speak to our church.  He plants churches, rescues widows and orphans (Sri Lanka is predominantly Buddhist and Buddhists believe that widows are not to be helped because their bad karma caused them to be a widow etc.–news to me! wow!), and is someone who is passionately changing the world for Christ.  A couple from our church is in Sri Lanka for a year helping with his ministry.  Here is a letter written by him that speaks of his brokenness and his passion. Enjoy!

This is the sixth week I have been in pain. I know Ophelia must have kept all of you informed, but I thought I must also give you my version.

I was in Korea for the Lausanne leadership summit – it was challenging and meaningful, but the highlight was for me to attend Dr. Paul Yonggi- Cho’s church. This was a highlight for me for several reasons:

  1. Over 750,000 members in the church. I was very impressed by the numbers,
  2. Impressed that the Lord took a very ordinary person to do an extraordinary work.
  3. I was also touched by the fervor and passion of the people. The service was simple (Good music, well organized) but the passion with which they worshiped and ministered to those around was unbelievable.
  4. They read the Apostles creed and the Lords prayer together – I did not expect this. I am amazed that there are so many people in our churches who do not know the apostles creed and the Lord’s Prayer. We must teach this to our people, specially in a context like Sri Lanka where we dealing with first generation Christians

I was seated and absorbing all of this, when suddenly it seemed to me that the Lord was speaking to me.

I was a good evangelist in Youth for Christ, but now I have settled down to be the Leader of a Church planting movement, committed to its growth. I have given myself to establish programs that major on social justice and mercy, looking for ways of developing relevant Theology for Asia. Caring for the orphans and widows. Majoring in developing relevant models of ministry for the Church in Asia. In the midlist of all of such good and worthy projects, I have moved away from my primary call of reaching out to those outside the Kingdom of God.

This conviction came upon me in a real sense. The wonder of the church no more attracted my attention, I was confessing and rededicating me life to align with the purposes of God.

The following Sunday I shared this with the Kithu Sevana community, they responded in an amazing way. We prayed together and that evening I developed a pain in my shoulders. I am not a good patient at the best of times – but the pain was so sharp, I was walking around in unbearable pain for three weeks, the Doctors were treating me but I found no relief. The sad part was my trusted Doctor and friend Kumar Fernando was out, caring for people in the North. When he subsequently returned, I visited him and he prescribed some pain killers and sleeping drugs and muscle relievers. This helped me to finally sleep and I continued with the Physiotherapy and the shoulder pain has lessened greatly.

I learned the following lessons:

  1. Care for those who are sick – This has never been my strength. I am committed to a big picture, I am committed to seeing it happen, and many times I have willfully dodged my responsibility of caring and sometimes because I was so preoccupied with the big picture, I never saw the physically hurting people. Compassion is a prerequisite for ministry, without compassion, we will use people rather than serve them.
  2. Reaching out to those outside the Kingdom of God is a spiritual battle. This needs preparation, a deep walk with the Lord and much fasting and prayer and the unity of the body. Did I rush to do the right thing without much preparation?

This might sound childish, but I wonder if this could this be a spiritual attack to derail my commitment to reaching out to my people in more intentional manner.

I will let you judge the situation.

Sine last evening I am again in pain and unable to sleep. I was thrilled that the painful episode with my shoulder was coming to an end, only to realize that I have developed a sinus infection that has given rise to an asthmatic cough. (This is something that I battle all the time. I go on coughing throughout the entire day, and the worst is in the night when I can’t fall asleep due to the coughing.) At some point I cough so much in the nights and go into spasms.

At the moment I am exhausted and in deep confusion. My theology says God heals, but at the moment I have been in pain for seven weeks. (Many people in the Church have experience divine healing when I prayed) Does God heal only a few? How about the people who never experienced divine healing. Should we assure healing for all or should we simply pray for all, believing that God can heal but allowing this to be an act of God?

What is our responsibility for those who have never experienced healing – condemn them as people of no faith or love them as those who are suffering and we do not know the reason. Some of the evangelists that I have met and even well meaning Pastors and friends, based on erroneous theology add more pain and guilt on the poor and suffering. Their examples says see how God has blessed me, but the same God has withheld blessing from you. (They may not say this so directly but that’s what they communicate)

It is interesting for me to note that Jesus never asked people to give and testimony of how people got healed through his healing ministry to validate his preaching and healing ministry or even to give Glory to God, but on the contrary he asked them not share with any one, but in one occasion he asked the leper “to go and show your self to the priest”

Mark 1:43-44

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them. (From New International Version)

TRIUMPH-LIST ATTITUDE IN PREACHING

Those who understand their role to serve the people will give up this triumph-list attitude in preaching but will communicate the Gospel in a manner to encourage and not to condemn. When people come to church, they come condemned and battling many issues and unresolved problems, they know they have failed God even in worse ways than we can even imagine.  The Church must offer hope, encouragement to the week and hurting so that they can go back to their world and make a difference for Jesus Christ.

THE CHURCH MUST PREACH GRACE BOLDLY, OFFER GRACE LAVISHLY AND PREPEARE A GRACIOUES COMMUNITY THAT SERVES A GRACELESS COMMUNITY.

I am convinced that triumph- listic preaching continues to do more harm to our people than good. We may be communicating to our people we are far superior and above them. They may admire us for such spirituality, but can never relate to us. Brokenness on the other hand, permits me to be real and celebrate the blessed assurance of JUSTIFICATION BY HIS GRACE and share my feeble attempt to reach SANTIFICATION through his sustaining Grace. This brings hope to those who are battling sin and doubt and make us shepherds they can relate to.

I wonder whether any of this make any sense to you, if so I am glad-If not I need help


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True Christianity

A good friend of mine just became a Christian! It is so exciting to see someone make the decision to cross the threshold of eternity.

He has been asking A LOT of questions.  What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? Shouldn’t we sell all our possessions and follow Him as the disciples did?

Mike Erre’s sermon attached to this post is titled: The End of Your Rope.  A title from a quote from Dallas Willard who points out that we don’t truly see Him and grow deeper in knowing Him until we are at the end of our ropes.  Speaking from one who has been at the end of the rope, I agree completely.

Please share your thoughts.  I found this sermon to encapsulate the true meaning of being a Christ follower.

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Judge NOT & love and understand as Jesus would (Matthew 7:1)

As I write this I am STILL recovering from the tongue lashing that I got from a patients wife yesterday.  We were having a congenial discussion about her spouse (the patient), and as I prepared to write orders and discuss the possible diagnoses, she went OFF.  I mentioned that his chronic abdominal cramps may, in the end (IF all the tests continue to come back negative) be entirely from stress.  Well she did NOT like that option at ALL.  “Don’t tell me it is stress! It is NOT stress! I KNOW it is not stress.  There is something wrong with him. That is what the other doctors said….”  She proceeded to sware at me for a good solid 2 minutes which seemed like a lifetime.  I was so frustrated and mad! I just finished a great book on how to be a better doctor, and I continue to try and improve my doctor skills.  In the book that I had just read, the author spoke about what a disservice doctors have done by just ordering more and more tests without getting at the heart of the matter and just talking with the patient.  It is SO frustrating to try to spend the time and show compassion and try and educate the patient to get spit in the face for it.  When you see over and over again that the patient is NOT interested in hearing what you have to say then you become hardened and numb and just give them what they want even if it is not necessary or the best treatment option!

After this very stressful situation, I found from the patients primary doctor that his wife has ‘gone off’ on him many times in the past, but that she is a professing Christian.  Now I was even more frustrated and angry.  I SO wanted to go back in to tell her how angry I am at her behavior.  How dare she act like that and claim to worship my precious Savior.

Now this is where the healing, the importance of fellowship, and the lessons were learned comes in.  I talked it over with one of my colleagues who is a believer.  And he challenged me to not judge her in that way.  OUCH!

He said: 1. just think how tough she would be without Christ and most importantly 2. you have never acted that way??? really never??? we are ALL like this at some time in our lives.  You MUST consider HER situation.  She is frustrated; she is scared; she has been dealing with this without any answers for months….WOW!

Now a day later, I see that God was teaching me a powerful review lesson on forgiveness, understanding, judgment, compassion, love, AND that I MUST continue to strive to love and go against the grain–and communicate with my patients with MORE compassion and understanding!

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How simple is the Christian walk of faith?

Here is a marvelous quote from 2 Christian missionaries who live in Africa about the Christian walk.

“Loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength will take you to the end of yourself, and you will find yourself looking out over a precipice. Only God can keep you from falling. Only faith working through love counts. Let’s never leave the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus. All we know when the pressure becomes great is Jesus and Him crucified. We exist by the power of the Cross, safe and secure.”-Rolland and Heidi

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Imagine: Using our Minds and Imaginations to Grow Closer to God Part 2

Enjoy sermon #6 in the Animate Series by Greg Boyd

Here is an excellent book that helps with prayer life and using imaginitive exercises to grow closer to God:

Animate Sermon Series by Boyd (This is the link to notes on the Series)

Celebration of Disciplines by Foster (This is an AMAZING book on spiritual disciplines.  It is filled with GREAT quotes from Christian disciples and with practical ways to grow deeper with Christ.  It is a How To on prayer, Bible study, fasting, etc.  Below is an excerpt from the book.)

mediation exercise: “The following is a brief exercise to aid you in “re-collection” that is simply called “palms down, palms up.” Begin by placing your palms down as a symbolic indication of your desire to turn over any concerns you may have to God. Inwardly you may pray, “Lord, I give to you my anger toward John. I release my fear of my dentist appointment this morning. I surrender my anxiety over not having enough money to pay the bills this month. I release my frustration over trying to find a baby-sitter for tonight.” Whatever it is that weighs on your mind or is a concern to you, just say, “palms down.” Release it. You may even feel a certain sense of release in your hands. After several moments of surrender, turn your palms up as a symbol of your desire to receive from the Lord. Perhaps you will pray silently: “Lord, I would like to receive your divine love for John, your peace about the dentist appointment, your patience, your joy.” Whatever you need, you say, “palms up.” Having centered down, spend the remaining moments in complete silence. Do not ask for anything. Allow the Lord to commune with you, to love you.”-Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

Finally I end with a quote from Francisco whose devotion, passion, and focused imagery inspires and transforms our often lifeless faith.  Try starting your day with Jesus WAITING for YOU to take each day as a unique adventure!

“When I wake up every morning, Jesus is waiting for me.”-Francisco

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Imagine: Using our Minds & Imaginations to grow closer to God Part 1

I have placed 1 of the 8 sermon series on this post because it is so important for Christians in the U.S. to come back to the early church practices of prayer, meditation, and using ALL of our sense and especially using our imagination/minds.

As a western physician, my brain is entirely left without a right.  The use of imagery in prayer and in our walk with Him could transform our faith if we took the time to practice these exercises.

As a former atheist, I am quick  to put distance between myself and God when life is going smoothly and to be filled with doubt when life is going rough.  These sermons inspire and challenge all of us to use our minds/imaginations to grow closer to Him.

Animate Sermon Series by Boyd (This is the link to notes on the Series)

As always share with us your thoughts.

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Is there really a satan? PART 3

This is the 3rd part of a 3 part series on the Biblical foundation of the spiritual truth of the demonic, the evidence of the demonic, and some evidence of the demonic learned from experience and C.S. Lewis. Uberlumen has chosen this 3 part series because we in the western world have lost site of the demonic.  As one friend has said: Don’t you think satan is real if Paul wrote about him?  Part of our Christian growth and walk must acknowledge the truths that we don’t like to think about and that we put into question in our society.
“The commonest question [I am asked about The Screwtape Letters] is whether I really ‘believe in the Devil.’
Now, if by ‘the Devil’ you mean a power opposite to God and, like God, self-existent from all eternity, the answer is certainly No.  There is no uncreated being except God.  God has no opposite.  No being could attain a ‘perfect badness’ opposite to the perfect goodness of God; for when you have taken away every kind of good thing (intelligence, will, memory, energy, and existence itself), there would be none of him left.
The proper question is whether I believe in devils.  I do.  That is to say, I believe in angels, and I believe that some of these, by the abuse of their free will, have become enemies to God and , as a corollary, to us.  These we may call devils.  They do not differ in nature from good angels, but their nature is depraved.  Devil is the opposite of angel only as Bad Man is the opposite of Good Man.  Satan, the leader or dictator of devils, is the opposite, not of God, but of Michael.
I believe this not in the sense that it is part of my creed, but in the sense that it is one of my opinions.  My religion would not be in ruins if this opinion were shown to be false.  Till that happens–and proofs of a negative and hard to come by–I shall retain it.  It seems to me to explain a good many facts.  It agrees with the plain sense of Scripture, the tradition of Christendom, and the beliefs of most men at most times.  And it conflicts with nothing that any of the sciences has shown to be true.”-C.S. Lewis, The Joyful Christian, pg 145
“One of the things that surprised me when I first read the New Testament seriously was that it talked so much about a Dark Power in the universe–a mighty evil spirit who was held to be the Power behind death and disease, and sin.  The difference is that Christianity thinks this Dark Power was created by God, and was good when he was created, and went wrong.  Christianity agrees…this universe is at war.”-C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
“…so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”-2 Cor. 4:16-18
As C.S. Lewis has pointed out in his ‘essential Christian reading’ book: The Screwtape Letters in which a young demon is mentored by his ‘uncle’ demon:
“Dear Wormwood…Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head.  He doesn’t think of doctrines as primarily ‘true’ or ‘false’, but as ‘academic’ or ‘practical’, ‘outworn’ or ‘contemporary’, ‘conventional’ or ‘ruthless’.  Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church.  Don’t waste time trying to make him think that materialism is true!  Make him think it is strong, or stark, or courageous–that it is the philosophy of the future.  That’s the sort of thing he cares about…your affectionate uncle [demon]…Screwtape”
I also learned a great deal from a book on spiritual warfare titled:  The Invisible War by Chip Ingram
I also came across a very interesting and thought provoking article from Greg Boyd’s Blog where he discusses with a scientist the idea that there is too much evil for the kingdom of darkness NOT to exist…
Please share your insights with us.
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Is there really a satan? PART 2

This is the 2nd of 3 part series on the Biblical foundation of the spiritual truth of the demonic, the evidence of the demonic, and some evidence of the demonic learned from experience and C.S. Lewis. Uberlumen has chosen this 3 part series because we in the western world have lost site of the demonic.  As one friend has said: Don’t you think satan is real if Paul wrote about him?  Part of our Christian growth and walk must acknowledge the truths that we don’t like to think about and that we put into question in our society.
PART 2: Here are a podcast and a blog site by a missionary friend of mine who experiences the angelic and demonic daily in his ministry (we experience them daily as well but just live lives unaware of them).
  1. The reality of the demonic: a podcast from a missionary in the middle east
  2. The reality of the demonic (part 2) by same missionary
  3. Here is a brief story of the demonic from the same missionary

I have also come across some stories from my friend Mike Erre.  In his book about the Kingdom: Death by Church, he points out that we must shift our understanding of the kingdom, the Bible et al by taking a warfare worldview–the world is truly at war between evil and good. 

I know Mike to be very analytical and ‘western’ in his mindset.  So when Mike shares his personal experiences with the demonic on pages 104-106 of his book, I know that these stories are true, accurate, and VERY real.  I remain a healthy (or unhealthy?) skeptic without my own personal experiences with the demonic although I am thankful, and I have had several unexplainable experiences with the angelic and likely the demonic (without knowing it! which is the problem–it happens all the time, all around us but we have been duped into disbelief).

What are your thoughts on this subject? Please leave comments.

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Part 3: Do Christ & Christians show us God?

Join us in our 3rd of 5 part series titled: Show me God.  In this sermon, we discuss one of the ‘new’ atheists favorites–They claim that the world would be better off without Christians and religion in general…

Show Me God

Christianity

Dr. Drew Lawson and Pastor Bucky Dennis

 

 

The God Who Shows Up

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21

 

Fact or Fiction:  Christianity is Bad.

 

Truth –We Have an Image Problem!

  • Judgmental

  • Hypocritical

  • Insensitive

 

What did Jesus say about these issues?

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!  25 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! 26 You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too. 27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:23-28

 

 

Dare – Will the Real Jesus Please Show Up!

 

In the Church

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:35

 

In Me

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.14“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16

 

What can I do about it?

  • Honesty: About my unchristian attitudes and actions

  • Authenticity: Pursue the Path of genuine transformation

  • Compassion: Serving others with humility and love

 

Will the Real Church Please Show Up!


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Is there REALLY a satan? PART 1

This is the 1st of a 3 part series on the Biblical foundation of the spiritual truth of the demonic, the evidence of the demonic, and some evidence of the demonic learned from experience and C.S. Lewis. Uberlumen has chosen this 3 part series because we in the western world have lost site of the demonic.  As one friend has said: Don’t you think satan is real if Paul wrote about him?  Part of our Christian growth and walk must acknowledge the truths that we don’t like to think about and that we put into question in our society.
PART 1: The Biblical foundations of this spiritual truth.  We live between a clash of 2 kingdoms.  Enjoy this sermon by Mike on the Biblical truth of the kingdom of darkness.
As always please share with us your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
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Death is NOT Dying: Rachel Barkey’s Wisdom

Rachel Barkey may be on the other side of heaven already for all I know.  But her words are eternal.  She shares her thoughts on dying and truly living in this video (I added the audio for you to download or listen via uberlumen podcast on itunes).

She makes 4 points:

  • Know God
  • Know yourself
  • Know the Gospel
  • Know your purpose

Her video

Her book list

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Men’s Group: Calvary Road, Dove and Lamb, Chapter 5

This chapter’s focus is once AGAIN: humility.  Only when we are broken and willing to be filled can we truly embrace and grow in the Holy Spirit’s teachings.  I have included this amazing statement below, study questions, and Dave’s insights.
Study Guide statement, pg 18:  “Remember the goal of the Christ-life is NOT to be a better Christian.  It is to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, by the Holy Spirit’s conquest of self.  Victory is not me overcoming my sin, victory is Jesus Christ overcoming me. When He overcomes me, moment by moment, the only Biblical response is humility and brokenness, which brings on the much needed grace of God. GLORY!

study questions:

1. Take a few minutes to meditate on this statement:  “But inasmuch as there is no past or future with God, but all is present and timeless, there is a sense in which the suffering of the Lord Jesus for the sins of which we have not repented is present too. What a vision it is when we see these sins wounding and hurting Him now!”
2. How can we be more like the Lamb?
  • humility–examples at work and at home?
  • submissiveness–examples at work and at home?
  • self-surrender–examples at work and at home?
3. What does Hession mean by this statement: “Victorious living and effective soul-winning service are not the product of our better selves and hard endeavours, but are simply the fruit of the Holy Spirit. We are not called upon to produce the fruit, but simply to bear it.“
4. “A saintly African Christian told a congregation once that, as he was climbing the hill to the meeting, he heard steps behind him. He turned and saw a man carrying a very heavy load up the hill on his back. He was full of sympathy for him and spoke to him. Then he noticed that His hands were scarred, and he realised that it was Jesus. He said to Him, “Lord, are you carrying the world’s sins up the hill?” “No,” said the Lord Jesus, “not the world’s sin, just yours!”
What are the sins that Jesus is carrying?

Dave’s Insights:  You had to be awake and ready to start this session because Drew got your brain going right out of the gate. Here is what we led off with: Take a few minutes and mediate on this statement, “But inasmuch as there is no past or future with God, but all is present and timeless, there is a sense in which the suffering of the Lord Jesus for the sins of which we have not repented is present, too. What a sin it is when we see these sins wounding and hurting him now.”

Robby said we tend to focus more on the forgiveness than the severity of the sin. I know I have been guilty of that, “I am forgiven” attitude, rather than taking the time to truly realize the impact of my sin and that it is wrong. I have come to realize I do not feel forgiven until I spend time with God, confess my sin and ask for His forgiveness.

The next question asked how we can be more like the Lamb. It gave suggestions for exploration in three areas, humility, submissiveness and self-surrender. Bucky talked about self-surrender. Bucky said sometimes he has hidden expectations and gets distressed when the outcome is not what he expected or wanted. I think we can all relate to that one, can’t we? We all have expectations. What do we do, or how do we respond when that job interview doesn’t get us the job, our finances aren’t where we would like them to be, or, the old, “I never thought I would be in this situation at this point in my life (it isn’t what I expected).” Funny thing is, a song by a fairly new Christian says “Welcome to wherever you are. God makes no mistakes; you are exactly where you are supposed to be.” How true, God has a plan for you. That plan may not be what you want or expect but it certainly is where you are supposed to be. So, maybe in your time with God, you can ask Him, “Lord, how may I serve you in this situation?”  If you keep your heart open, God will use you in that situation, no matter what it is. And, I believe you will both benefit from it.

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The Science of Loss

“A pair psychologist from the University of Michigan recently conducted a fascinating study that shed some neurological light on the fear of loss.  First, volunteers donned caps containing electrodes.  Then they engaged in a computer simulated betting game, while researchers analyzed their brain electrical activity in response to winning and losing.  With each bet, the medial frontal cortex in her brain showed increased electrical activity with any matter of milliseconds.  But what intrigued the researchers was that negativity showed a larger dip after a loss and positivity rose after her win.  In fact, during a string of setbacks, medial frontal negativity dipped lower and lower.  Each loss was compounded by the previous loss.  Researchers came to a simple yet profound conclusion: losses loom larger than games.  In other words, the aversion to loss of a certain magnitude is greater than the attraction to gain of the same magnitude.”-Mark Batterson, Chasing the Holy Spirit, Purpose Driven Connection, volume 1, pg 84-85

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Men’s Group: Fellowship from Calvary Road, May 13, 2009

The progression of the chapters in Calvary Road is significant.  We started with brokenness, then went to confession/cleaning our lives (cups) up so we can fill them with the Holy Spirit, and now we turn to fellowship.

Years ago I kept secrets from my wife, and one day I finally ‘confessed’ and ‘cleaned’ out ALL the skeletons in my closet (cup).  It was a scary, crazy, and bold move that kept us up talking until 3am.  I was scared of her not forgiving me and not understanding me.  She did both.

Shortly after my cup was clean 2 things happened.  My marriage went from great to amazing.  The comfort in KNOWING that there was nothing to hide freed us up to have a depth and peace and intimacy that I would have never dreamed of.  

The second thing that happened is that I learned to share my dirty cup with other men.  I found several men who were willing and that I felt save enough with to share my deepest fears and struggles.  I talk and meet with these men weekly.  This has transformed my relationship with my wife, with Christ, and with everyone around me.  A very large weight has been lifted from my soul, and I have a place to run and hide when things get overwhelming.

Hession in chapter 3-The Way of Fellowship outlines the importance of fellowship in shaping our lives and our relationships with our spouses, our friends, and our God.

Through the years, I have continued to try and coach and encourage other men to ‘date’ each other.  There is a richness to life that is sorely lacking without this process.  But it takes men SO LONG and most NEVER are able or willing to get there.  

The only way to do it is by finding a guy that you feel comfortable with and you take a few baby steps by sharing some private struggles or sins.  See how they respond, If they respond in kind and with understanding then dig deeper and continue to share more.  As you trust more and learn to share more, you will find that your marriage is better, your walk with Christ is deeper, and your life is richer.

Any questions?

Calvary Road, Chapter 3, Fellowship quotes:

But if we have not been brought into vital fellowship with our brother, it is a proof that to that extent we have not been brought into vital fellowship with God
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Sin always involves us in being unreal, pretending, duplicity, window dressing, excusing ourselves and blaming others–and we can do all that as much by our silence as by saying or doing something.
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The only basis for real fellowship with God and man is to live out in the open with both.
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Spurgeon defines it in one of his sermons as “the willingness to know and be known.”
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We must be willing not only to know, but to be known by him for what we really are. That means we are not going to hide our inner selves from those with whom we ought to be in fellowship; we are not going to window dress and put on appearances; nor are we going to whitewash and excuse ourselves. We are going to be honest about ourselves with them. We are willing to give up our spiritual privacy, pocket our pride and risk our reputations for the sake of being open and transparent with our brethren in Christ.
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We have not necessarily got to tell everybody everything about ourselves. The fundamental thing is our attitude of walking in the light, rather than the act. Are we willing to be in the open with our brother–and be so in word when God tells us to?
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When the barriers are down and the masks are off, God has a chance of making us really one. But there is also the added joy of knowing that in such a fellowship we are “safe.”
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Jesus wants you to begin walking in the light with Him in a new way today. Join with one other–your Christian friend, the person you live with, your wife, your husband. Drop the mask.

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911 Interview: May we NEVER forget

This is a POWERFUL 17 minute interview with Rebecca who lived through 911.  I hope that this will add to the memoirs so that we will NEVER forget this horrific day in history.  It is important to remember the hero’s.

We talked after the interview and she mentioned a few more powerful experiences:

  • equipment-they would try and retrieve fire equipment, and she was not sure why they wanted all this stuff.  It turned out that they would get skin for DNA testing off of the equipment to help identify the location of the firemen that were missing/killed.
  • smell-even today she has a hard time with the smell.  she couldn’t describe the smell but it has been so etched into her heart and mind that just asking her about it brought deep emotions.
  • crowds-she remembered that months later as she would drive up to work at ground zero there were people lined up on the streets cheering for all the volunteers.  she would comment to her friends; please go home and go one with your lives.

Included below are VERY graphic and moving photos of that fateful day. Help us all NEVER to forget the ability of all of us to do horrible things to each other,  help us to bend a knee and love one another and may we never forget the hero’s of that day.

2 books on the topic:

102 Minutes

Last Man Standing

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Married Life Live, Session 2: Only Jesus can heal wounds.

Enjoy the notes and the brief audio teaching from our second Married Life Live session.
MEN’s ANSWERS:
What is your wound?
  • performance wound
  • not enough wound
  • distand dad and/or mom
  • not sensitive (family of origin-distant-did not express feelings)
  • non-emotional-grow up afraid of emotions/expression of emotions
  • self sufficient wound (can do life on own)
How does your wife help that wound?
  • acts of service
  • words of affirmation
  • touch
  • quality time
  • gifts
What role does Jesus play in your marriage?
  • put Jesus first–then marriage will follow
  • let Him rule, submit to Him otherwise it doesn’t work
  • Jesus is the glue.
  • example of forgiveness & grace
  • unconditional
  • grow closer to Him by prayer, reading Bible, fellowship
WOMEN’S ANSWERS:
What is your wound?
  • avoid conflict
  • perfection
  • inadequate
  • feeling valued/desirable
  • not loved
  • lack confidence
  • favoritism/suppressed feelings
How does your husband hurt that wound?  
  • expectation
  • criticism: this is a BIG one.  It is NEVER worth it! You WILL NOT change him/her by criticism.
  • trying to fix a problem
  • feeling not valued or under valued and undesirable
How does your husband help that wound?
  • open and share
  • healthy disagreement
  • acceptance
  • speaking truth
  • gentleness
  • support/encoragement
  • perspective
What role does Jesus play in your marriage?
  • unconditional love
  • Jesus loves us/rejoices in us
*KEY is to identify the wounds/issue because that helps to heal, recognize when they pop up, and focus on Christ to heal them.  Spouse can’t fix/heal the wound, but we can minister to the wound as Jesus heals it.
*CRITICISM:  It is NEVER worth it! You WILL NOT change him/her by criticism. My wife used to try this–ex. ‘you really should…find some friends that would be good for you etc…only when she gave up the criticism and started to pray did I start to make some of the changes that she desired.  We have to remember that criticism is painful, counter productive, and never works to change us so DON’T DO IT.  Love him/her just the way they are!
*DON’T try and fix it…it is usually the husband who wants to ‘fix’ the problem but whoever it is DON’T do it.  LISTEN and only fix if asked to.
*AFFIRM, AFFIRM, AFFIRM: in all discussions/arguments, lead with affirmation and don’t stonewall or run away…meet the problem head on by talking and listening.  A woman who stonewalls or runs from conflict with a husband who is from a stoic or non-emotional upbringing is very hurtful.  A man from such a family of origin needs empathy and support not stonewalling.
*Allow Jesus to delight in YOU!
“…the LORD takes delight in his people…”-Psalm 149:4.