Friday, July 31, 2009
Pursuing God
"Hymnody is sweet with the longing after God, the God whom, while the singer seeks, he knows he has already found. "His track I see and I'll pursue," sang our fathers only a short generation ago, but that song is heard no more in the great congregation. How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of "accepting" Christ...and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him. This is set before us as the last word in orthodoxy, and it is taken for granted that no Bible-taught Christian ever believe otherwise. Thus that whole testimony of the worshiping, seeking, singing church on that subject is crisply set aside. The experiential heart-theology of a grand army of fragrant saints is rejected in favor of a smug interpretation of Scripture which would certainly have sounded strange to an Augustine, a Rutherford or a Brainerd." -A.W. Tozer The Puruit of God
Friday, July 24, 2009
The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church
Read the article on Fox News about the public execution of Ri Hyon Ok for distributing Bibles in North Korea. Friends, this is the type of commitment Christ disciples are called to make. If we are unwilling, and most Western Christians would never ever countenance rendering such a dangerous service, then is it too much to suggest that perhaps God is removing the lampstand from the American church? (Rev. 2:5)
What will it take for the church in the United States to reclaim the sense of radical self-sacrifice and discipleship that will be required for the Church to regain its redemptive power in our culture?
May the sacrifice of Ri Hyon Ok make spiritually fertile the ground upon which she was slain. May God protect those of her family who survive, if any are still alive. May we be bondservants of Christ for whom to live is Christ and to die is gain.
What will it take for the church in the United States to reclaim the sense of radical self-sacrifice and discipleship that will be required for the Church to regain its redemptive power in our culture?
May the sacrifice of Ri Hyon Ok make spiritually fertile the ground upon which she was slain. May God protect those of her family who survive, if any are still alive. May we be bondservants of Christ for whom to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
What is the world coming to?
Yo peeples! Check it out...I'm approved to be an adjunct...get this...professor for the Baptist College of Florida. Ok, so it's not Oxford, but hey, you gotta start somewhere!
Boy, are they scraping the bottom of the barrel ;-) I just hope they don't find out how badly I flatlined on my logic test last week.
Boy, are they scraping the bottom of the barrel ;-) I just hope they don't find out how badly I flatlined on my logic test last week.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Sometimes we just need a little inspiriation
It is good to be reminded of the depths and power of God's love for each one of us. We can easily focus on our immediate situations, problems, challenges and forget the love and the power of the One we serve. I called my great-aunt today to share with her some prayer concerns. She has long been a pillar of Christian faithfulness in my life and in the lives of many others.
Her immediate reply to my concerns was "don't focus on your problems, focus on how Big God IS!" What a timely word. He is bigger than everything we will ever face in this life. He is the One, Revelations tells us, who was dead, and behold, He is alive forevermore, and He has the keys of death and Hades. He is the One who will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. He is the One who tells us to seek ye first the Kingdom of of Heaven, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.
Her immediate reply to my concerns was "don't focus on your problems, focus on how Big God IS!" What a timely word. He is bigger than everything we will ever face in this life. He is the One, Revelations tells us, who was dead, and behold, He is alive forevermore, and He has the keys of death and Hades. He is the One who will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. He is the One who tells us to seek ye first the Kingdom of of Heaven, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you.
Friday, July 03, 2009
The Case Against Immorality
My friend Greg Breazeale over at http://www.yearnforgod.org/ recently refered to a post by author Randy Alcorn on the consequences of adultery. I invite readers to reflect on the implications listed below and to suggest additional consequences that should be considered since this list is by no means complete:
1)Personalized List of Anticipated Consequences of Immorality
2)Grieving my Lord; displeasing the One whose opinion most matters.
3)Dragging into the mud Christ's sacred reputation.
4)Loss of reward and commendation from God.
5)Having to one day look Jesus in the face at the judgment seat and give an account of why I did it. Forcing God to discipline me in various ways.
6)Following in the footsteps of men I know of whose immorality forfeited their ministry and caused me to shudder. List of these names:
7)Suffering of innocent people around me who would get hit by my shrapnel (a la Achan).
8)Untold hurt to my best friend and loyal wife.
9)Loss of my wife's respect and trust.
10)Hurt to and loss of credibility with my beloved children. ("Why listen to a man who betrayed Mom and us?")
11)If my blindness should continue or my family be unable to forgive, I could lose my wife and my children forever.
12)Shame to my family. (The cruel comments of others who would invariably find out.)
13)Shame to my church family.
14)Shame and hurt to my fellow pastors and elders. List of names:
15)Shame and hurt to my friends, and especially those I've led to Christ and discipled. List of names:
16)Guilt awfully hard to shake—even though God would forgive me, would I forgive myself?
17)Plaguing memories and flashbacks that could taint future intimacy with my wife.
18)Disqualifying myself after having preached to others.
19)Surrender of the things I am called to and love to do—teach and preach and write and minister to others. Forfeiting forever certain opportunities to serve God. Years of training and experience in ministry wasted for a long period of time, maybe permanently.
20)Being haunted by my sin as I look in the eyes of others, and having it all dredged up again wherever I go and whatever I do.
21)Undermining the hard work and prayers of others by saying to our community "this is a hypocrite—who can take seriously anything he and his church have said and done?"
Laughter, rejoicing and blasphemous smugness by those who disrespect God and the church (2 Samuel 12:14).
22)Bringing great pleasure to Satan, the Enemy of God.
23)Heaping judgment and endless problems on the person I would have committed adultery with.Possible diseases (pain, constant reminder to me and my wife, possible infection of Nanci, or in the case of AIDS, even causing her death, as well as mine.)
24)Possible pregnancy, with its personal and financial implications.
25)Loss of self-respect, discrediting my own name, and invoking shame and lifelong embarrassment upon myself.
1)Personalized List of Anticipated Consequences of Immorality
2)Grieving my Lord; displeasing the One whose opinion most matters.
3)Dragging into the mud Christ's sacred reputation.
4)Loss of reward and commendation from God.
5)Having to one day look Jesus in the face at the judgment seat and give an account of why I did it. Forcing God to discipline me in various ways.
6)Following in the footsteps of men I know of whose immorality forfeited their ministry and caused me to shudder. List of these names:
7)Suffering of innocent people around me who would get hit by my shrapnel (a la Achan).
8)Untold hurt to my best friend and loyal wife.
9)Loss of my wife's respect and trust.
10)Hurt to and loss of credibility with my beloved children. ("Why listen to a man who betrayed Mom and us?")
11)If my blindness should continue or my family be unable to forgive, I could lose my wife and my children forever.
12)Shame to my family. (The cruel comments of others who would invariably find out.)
13)Shame to my church family.
14)Shame and hurt to my fellow pastors and elders. List of names:
15)Shame and hurt to my friends, and especially those I've led to Christ and discipled. List of names:
16)Guilt awfully hard to shake—even though God would forgive me, would I forgive myself?
17)Plaguing memories and flashbacks that could taint future intimacy with my wife.
18)Disqualifying myself after having preached to others.
19)Surrender of the things I am called to and love to do—teach and preach and write and minister to others. Forfeiting forever certain opportunities to serve God. Years of training and experience in ministry wasted for a long period of time, maybe permanently.
20)Being haunted by my sin as I look in the eyes of others, and having it all dredged up again wherever I go and whatever I do.
21)Undermining the hard work and prayers of others by saying to our community "this is a hypocrite—who can take seriously anything he and his church have said and done?"
Laughter, rejoicing and blasphemous smugness by those who disrespect God and the church (2 Samuel 12:14).
22)Bringing great pleasure to Satan, the Enemy of God.
23)Heaping judgment and endless problems on the person I would have committed adultery with.Possible diseases (pain, constant reminder to me and my wife, possible infection of Nanci, or in the case of AIDS, even causing her death, as well as mine.)
24)Possible pregnancy, with its personal and financial implications.
25)Loss of self-respect, discrediting my own name, and invoking shame and lifelong embarrassment upon myself.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
God or Country?
The following are some thoughts on the relationship between the Church and State that respond to a friend's comments on this topic:
Greg, I share the sentiments you expressed above. My main concern for some time now has been the confusion of earthly political entities with the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus made it clear that His kingdom is not of this world. The church and political entities are not identical. I agree that we live in what continues to be the greatest nation in the world (in a number of different ways). But the church is first, and foremost, about advancing God's kingdom.
I don't disagree with Jeff's comment that our freedoms were bought with a price, a price that should be honored. But is the church the proper venue for bestowing such honor? Or should we rather give God glory for providentially ordering the affairs of the world such that we are free to proclaim the gospel. To Jeff, I would respond: whether we are free to proclaim the gospel or not is relatively immaterial to the theological issue at hand. God-called ministers proclaim the gospel whether the state sanctions that activity or not.
I agree that Christians should work for the common good; politically, socially, intellectually. But the focus of the church should be on God’s glory and bringing the nations into His kingdom. I don’t deny that God may have, indeed, blessed America specifically or His purposes. But I take any of God’s blessings as a responsibility to use those gifts to invest in His kingdom work.
Given that our nation has become so secular and the state sanctions many things that are an abomination to God, I am not comfortable pledging my allegiance to the United States. As a Christian, my only allegiance is to Christ. I happen to live in a country that God has blessed and I am thankful for that. I think America still has some good things left in it and some good things left to offer. I even served my country in the United States Marine Corps for four years. I do not hate my country, but theologically, I must content that there is a distinct difference between America (and American civil religion) and the Church (Christianity).
Humbly submitted for reflection and edification.
Ben Kimmell
Greg, I share the sentiments you expressed above. My main concern for some time now has been the confusion of earthly political entities with the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus made it clear that His kingdom is not of this world. The church and political entities are not identical. I agree that we live in what continues to be the greatest nation in the world (in a number of different ways). But the church is first, and foremost, about advancing God's kingdom.
I don't disagree with Jeff's comment that our freedoms were bought with a price, a price that should be honored. But is the church the proper venue for bestowing such honor? Or should we rather give God glory for providentially ordering the affairs of the world such that we are free to proclaim the gospel. To Jeff, I would respond: whether we are free to proclaim the gospel or not is relatively immaterial to the theological issue at hand. God-called ministers proclaim the gospel whether the state sanctions that activity or not.
I agree that Christians should work for the common good; politically, socially, intellectually. But the focus of the church should be on God’s glory and bringing the nations into His kingdom. I don’t deny that God may have, indeed, blessed America specifically or His purposes. But I take any of God’s blessings as a responsibility to use those gifts to invest in His kingdom work.
Given that our nation has become so secular and the state sanctions many things that are an abomination to God, I am not comfortable pledging my allegiance to the United States. As a Christian, my only allegiance is to Christ. I happen to live in a country that God has blessed and I am thankful for that. I think America still has some good things left in it and some good things left to offer. I even served my country in the United States Marine Corps for four years. I do not hate my country, but theologically, I must content that there is a distinct difference between America (and American civil religion) and the Church (Christianity).
Humbly submitted for reflection and edification.
Ben Kimmell
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
