Who are you?

I have "no Facebook" a rule when I'm writing my sermon, meaning I don't go on Facebook that day until after I do the writing I intend for the day. My original plan today had been to write but late in the day, when it was apparent that I wouldn't and I had the other work-related tasks for the day finished, I spent some time catching up with the world on Facebook.  And in doing so I came across something I couldn't pass up.

It was a quiz. I usually skip quiz's. This one was called Which Bible Character Are You? and I passed it by, but then came back.  A friend had done it and was told he was King Solomon. So I decided to check it out.

I was asked a question about who I was (curious, because they already knew I was Brad) and then, with a single click, I would be told which Bible character I was and put that information on  Facebook.  I paused.

My friend was told he was Solomon.  Not too bad at first glance.  Most powerful of all the kings of Israel.  Unparalleled wealth and wisdom.  But there is also the matter of 700 wives, 300 concubines, and most seriously, the words of 1 Kings 11:4,

"For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father."

For all that God had given to Solomon, his story ends with him being a long ways from God, worshipping everything but God. 

There is a character in the Bible that I do identify with, although I suspect that the quiz didn't include many of the lesser-known people found in the Bible's storyline.  He is a man who speaks but six words.  Luke 18:13 says,

"But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’"

A man who knows the distance between God and himself.  A man who knows that his sin against God lies in that distance.  A man who knows that God is a God rich in mercy, and who will lavish His mercy on all who turn from their sin and seek Him.

When it comes to the characters of the Bible, I am the tax collector coming to God, seeking His mercy.  Who are you?

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

"Its all about me, isn't it?" or Facebook theology, part 3

This is the third of an irregular series, where I reflect on something seen online, usually through a post on Facebook.  Last night I saw this "prayer":

Dear God,

Enlighten what's dark in me…

Strengthen what's weak in me…

Mend what's broken in me…

Bind what's bruised in me…

Heal what's sick in me,

and lastly…

Revive whatever peace and love has died in me…

Type, "Amen" if this is your prayer!

I don't know what you see when you read this prayer, but what I see is a prayer that is all about "me" and has not a thought at all about the god to whom it is being prayed.  It would seem that the one to whom it is being prayed to is a god whose primary task, in the eyes of the one praying, is to make sure that all is well in the world of the one praying. 

I don't know the religious persuasion, if any, of the author of this prayer.  I am a pastor of a Christian church and am going to respond from that perspective.  And in doing so I understand that my perspective will not necessarily be the same as others who identify as Christians. 

I said that this prayer seems to be all about the one praying it and I wonder what the author of it thinks about God.  What characteristics of God come to mind when they think about God?

Is God holy?  Is God good?  Is God always good?  Is God beautiful?  Is God just?  Is God fair?  Is God sovereign?  Is God's knowledge perfect?  Is God perfect in every way?

These are but a few of the questions we could consider in understanding who God is and how God works, particularly how God works in the world and in the lives of people.  As we begin to work out answers to these kinds of questions we begin to see that our approach to God should be somewhat different than what I find in the prayer above, i.e. an approach that is "all about me."

So here is a suggestion for a different way to approach God in prayer.  It is but one way of coming to God, one that recognizes that first and foremost He is God. 

Pray using these letters as guides: A-C-T-S. 

Adoration: Tell God things like how great He is, how beautiful He is, how much you love Him.  Give Him words of praise and worship.

Confession: He is God and we are not.  He is holy and we are not.  Lay before Him those things that come to mind where you have gone your way and not His.  Our offenses against Him are sins and we need to lay them before Him and ask His forgiveness.

Thanksgiving: Thank God for what He has done in your life, for where you have seen Him at work in the world. 

Supplication: Now is the time to ask God for the concerns of your heart.  Lift up what is on your heart, be it about yourself, your friends, or the world.

Something I have found as I work through this model in my own prayer life is that I ask God for much more on behalf of other people than I ask for myself.  This model of prayer is also one that makes me mindful of God, of other people, and of myself, in that order.

We use this model in worship on Sunday in our congregational prayer, although I leave out the section on confession because we do a separate Prayer of Confession earlier in the service.   

And we end our congregational prayer with the words of the Lord's Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Facebook theology, part 2

This is the second of an irregular series, where I reflect on something seen online, usually through a post on Facebook.  Yesterday I saw this:

"Jesus doesn't care how many Bible verses you have memorized.  He cares how you treat other people."

Two statements, linked together.  Of the first you could say that it is both true and false.  And also of the second, it is both true and false.

Does Jesus care how many Bible verses I have memorized?  Probably not, although I can't be certain of that.  I have a number of verses marked in my Bible that I am trying to memorize, and I'll be honest and admit that I haven't been working at them with any diligence lately.

But here is the rub.  If I don't take the word of God into my mind and let it dwell there, it won't take up residence in my heart.  If I don't continually drink from the depth of God's word I won't be able to live any part of my life in a manner that is pleasing to him.  I won't know how to care for other people in ways that please God unless I am standing on the firm foundation of God's word.  That foundation is built on my continually dwelling in his word.

Which is where the second statement comes in. God may very well care how I treat other people, but it is not God's desire that I treat people merely in some sort of way that makes me feel good about myself.  God wants me to treat people in ways that honor and praise him. 

Like my efforts to memorize Bible verses, I fall short here too, but I have a good understanding of what my behavior towards others should look like, and I know that when I err, and I do so often, that God is gracious in granting forgiveness. 

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul writes these words about how Christians are to treat other people:

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

Another response to the Facebook post are the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:36-39:

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

In these verses Jesus points us to God's word to nourish us, and then to take that nourishment and live it out in the world.  To His eternal glory.  Amen.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Facebook theology, part 1

I was on Facebook the other day and saw something shared by someone that I have seen before.  The message was this:

"God has seen you struggling with something.  God says it's over!  A blessing is coming your way.  If you believe in God, send/post this message on and please don't ignore it, you are being tested.  God is going to fix two big things tonight in your favor.  If you believe in God, drop everything and pass this on."

Wow!  What a message!  God not only knows I am struggling with one thing but He is going to fix two things…for me…tonight!

I'll confess that there is much I love about Facebook.  I love staying in touch with people near and far, friends from years ago and people I have only come to know recently.  I enjoy the somewhat random things people post that tickle my funny bone.  I enjoy sharing little bits about myself and my family.  And I enjoy the encouragement I find in unexpected places. 

The message above could be considered one of that type, as a message of encouragement, but unfortunately it is one of many messages floating around Facebook that may sound good but which is really empty and meaningless.

This kind of message is basically self-centered, and mostly about the person who wrote it and not really about God at all.  I am working on a sermon based on Ephesians 1:11-14, where Paul writes this in verses 13-14:

" In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory."

The writer of the Facebook message may mean well but God says something much more powerful in his word. 

He knows I struggle, because I am a sinner living in a fallen world.  He has sent the word of truth in his Son.  In his mercy he has sent a Savior, one in whom my salvation is guaranteed.  He has sealed me with his very Spirit. 

If I believe in God then message of salvation is the one I should drop everything for and share with others.   

And, as Paul notes, I should share it to the praise of his glory.  Amen!

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.