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We Will Not Remain Silent
The language of Psalm 50 is powerful – “The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth…Our God comes and will not be silent… He summons the heavens above…” If the creation of the world, the establishment of the law, the ministry of the prophets, burning bushes, divine visions, dreams, or the power of the Scriptures, don’t all convince you – this psalm should. God speaks. He is not aloof and voiceless, he does not sit back with arms crossed and lips sealed, he is not silent – he speaks!
And therefore, as his people, so should we. Especially in light of Romans 10:13-14 – “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
And although many of us are skeptical of “preaching” to others (mainly because of the misguided zeal or stupidity of guys with bullhorns or preachers who yell until the vien in thier heads burst), we have been given a divine calling and commission to “speak the truth in love”. And as St. Francis of Assisi pointed out, this most certainly includes and is based on the way you live your life. But it also must include words and explanations.
1 Peter 3:15 says this – “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have”. Okay, so I’m asking you – why Jesus? Why now? Given all of the reasons not to believe, tell me why you do.
*Here are some things to keep in mind/some suggestions to help you formulate an answer and communicate your hope in Christ with others.
In his book “Walk Across the Room”, Rick Warren talks about living in 3D – Develop Friendships (get to know people outside of your Christian circles/spheres of influence. Spend time in places and with people who don’t know the LORD, basically become a good friend to as many people as possible!). Next, Discover Stories (ask great questions and really get to know the people you are befriending. Find out what is important to them, what makes them tick, what do they feel or know or want in regard to religion. What was thier family like? What are their hopes for the future? Discover stories and get to know others at a deeper level). Finally, Discern Next Steps (follow the Spirit’s leading and allow him to tell you/show you what you should do next. Maybe you need to invite them to church, or open the Word with them, maybe you simply need to encourage them or ask more questions or pray over/with them. God is faithful and will show you what should come next).
In addition to living in 3D, Rick Warren talks about how absolutely crucial it is that we know and are able to communicate our own “faith stories”. At its most basic level, your story might sound/look something like a “Before & After”. Think about it in these terms – Before Christ…Christ…After Christ. What difference has Christ really made in your life? What were you like before Christ (angry, pusposeless, hopeless, living in regreat, broken, etc.) and now what are you like after you’ve come to know Christ (more peaceful, grounded, hopeful, redeemed, healed, etc.)?
Rick Warren says, “When someone opens a conversational door for you by asking why you are so fired up about Jesus, state as simply as possible what was going on before you met Jesus, and what has been going on since you began to seriously and intentionally follow him”.
A few more things to keep in mind – as we speak the truth in love, I think it is absolutely crucial that we know the “Irreducible Ingredients” of the gospel. What are the key/foundational truths that someone needs to know if/when you are sharing the message of the gospel with them. Here are the ones that Rick Warren suggests:
1. God loves you
2. Sin destroys you
3. Christ chose to die/pay for you
4. The choice is now yours
At this point, you might also want to have several key verses handy to help summarize/communicate these points: Verses like Hebrews 9:26-28; Romans 6:22-23; Titus 3:3-7; I Timothy 1:15, or Acts 4:12
Regardless of what you say or how you say it, know this (as Isaiah 55 promises) – that when God’s words/Word goes out, it will always accomplish something and will never come back void. So start talking!
Where Did Everybody Go?
My eyes were recently opened (thanks to the writings of Philip Yancey) to something that I had never really noticed before. Think about the tranquility and calmness, the peace & the stength that Jesus exhibited during his trials, the beatings, the torture, and the crucifixion itself. In the Gospels, Jesus is in complete control. When he offers himself to be arrested, the guards draw back and fall to the ground. When Pilate questions and then sentences him, Jesus replies with, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you.”
When did Jesus struggle the most during? It wasn’t during all of these events, it was earlier that night, in prayer, before any of these things had transpired. In that time of prayer, we read that Jesus was heavily burdened, scared, and possibly even terrified of what was to come. Sweat and tears and blood poured from his body that night.
In response to this, Philip Yancey says the following: “For most of us, prayer serves as a resource to help in a time of testing or conflict. For Jesus, it was the battle itself. One the Gethsemane prayers had aligned him with the Father’s will, what happened next was merely the means to fulfill it. In the words of Haddon Robinson, ‘Had I been there (in the garden with Jesus) I would have worried about the future. “If he is so broken up when all he is doing is praying, what will he do when he faces a real crisis? Why can’t he approach this ordeal with the same calm confidence of his three sleeping friends?” Yet, when the test came, Jesus walked to the cross with courage, and his three friends fell apart and fell away.’
These words and insights hit me like a ton of bricks. For my entire adult life, and throughout the last 8 years of ministry, I have approaced prayer as preparation for the battle that is to come. Prayer is that which will give me the strength and wisdom to go out and fight the darkness. And yet, it appears, that the real battle is fought in prayer. If I see prayer simply as the pep-talk before the big game, then when I speak or teach or “fight the good fight” as I have understood it, I am simply walking out onto a field, fully prepared to fight, only to see that the battle has been over for quite some time.
Could my life and my ministry lack power and authority, could renewal and passion and a longing for God be missing from the students I work with because I have “fallen asleep the night before” and not devoted myself to the real battle taking place in & through prayer?
Jesus shows us that what we seek to accomplish and bring about in/through our ministries and our Christian lives happens first and foremost (and maybe only) through the discipline and avenue and battle that is prayer.
Is All Truth “God’s Truth”?
Over the last several years, both in the writings of popular Christian authors and in the classrooms of religious colleges, a particular slogan has begun to appear more and more. Maybe you have heard the saying, it goes something like this, “All Truth is God’s Truth”.
When I first heard this principle, it was rather liberating. At times, believers (especially new/young believers) can feel as if studying or pursuing anything that doesn’t have the label “Christian” on it or doesn’t directly connect with or point to Christ, is somehow secondary to those things that do. I used to think and say to myself, “Learning more about mathematics is good, but knowing the gospels is better!” To me, it seemed like there was truth with a capital “T”, and then all other truths. I’m not sure if others can relate, but I felt like all lower case “t” truth was a waste of my time. So hearing that all truth is God’s truth, opened my eyes to the fact that big “T” truth is everywhere (not just in the bible). God’s power and presence and glory are found in everything from the bible, to calculus equations, to the study of the solar system. Jesus said, “I am THE TRUTH”, so I have come to believe that when you encounter truth, you encounter Jesus (period).
But, as I have recently come to believe, that isn’t entirely true. Listen to the words of John Piper on this particular issue -
Sometimes the slogan “All truth is God’s truth” is used to justify dealing in any sphere of knowledge as an act of worship or stewardship. The impression is given that just knowing God’s truth and recognizing it as such is a good thing, even a worthy end. But the problem with this is that the devil does it.
“If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.” (1Corinthians 8:2-3). Which I take to mean that until we know in such a way that we love God more because of it, we do not yet know as we ought to know.
Alongside “All truth is God’s truth,” we need to say, “All truth exists to display more of God and awaken more love for God.” This means that knowing truth and knowing it as God’s truth is not a virtue until it awakens desire and delight in us for the God of truth. And that desire and delight are not complete until they give rise to words or actions that display the worth of God. That is, we exist to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31), and merely knowing a truth to be God’s truth does not glorify him any more than the devil does.
Wow – causes you to rethink the solgan a little bit. Is all truth God’s truth? Well, all truth does in fact point to God and find its basis and meaning in God, whether that is 2+2 or an understanding of how to build a computer, but the Scriptures make it clear that truth is designed for and grounded in the glory of God and its primary purpose is to cause us to grow in our love for Him. So if we simply allow truth just to be truth and not allow it to draw us or compel us to have a greater love for God, then it is not God’s truth. So, marvel in the precision of the universe, delight in how God has made everything, seek to discover more and more about God through his creation, or the laws of physics, or whatever. But don’t just stop there. Allow that truth to result in an even greater love for the God who is behind and in it all.
All truth is God’s truth (well, sort of).
FML? No Way! TTL!
Recently a few students (whose names will remain anonymous, mostly for their own protection 
) introduced me to several websites where you can list off and share with the world how horrible your day, current situation, or entire life for that matter, has been. And after you are done listing how horrendous things are, you conclude by stating (in not so eloquent of a way) that your life stinks.
And although I will be the first to admit that it is pretty funny to hear about the bad luck and problems that others experience (I guess it reaffirms that I’m not the only one with problems), I find something troubling about such sites, and the comments that you read on there.
I mean it is easy and quite natural to focus on and highlight the bad part of any given situation. We do it all of the time. In addition to the truly bad things that tend to dominate our lives , think about our normal tendencies -
- My car runs fine, but there is that one little noise that just drives me crazy. If only I had a car that wouldn’t do that. I hate it when it…
-I have a great job and all, but I really can’t stand when I have to do…(you fill in the blank). If only I had a job where I didn’t have to do that or…
-I tried my best and put in a ton of effort into that assignment, and my grade was good, but if only professor would have heard me say…or if the other students would have carried their weight a little more, I could have received an even higher grade.
-I like the internship that I have, but the one I really wanted was…now I’m not sure if I will get the job that I want.
The list goes on and on. It doesn’t take much thought or effort or energy to sit there and gripe about the “bad things” that are in our lives. And surrounding yourself, either on-line or with real people who only talk about and pay attention to the things that didn’t work out, makes for a pretty lousy afternoon.
I’m wondering what it would look like, instead of being so focused on and burdened by the negative in our lives, if we actually started openly talking and thinking about the amazing things that are happening (that God is doing), all around us. Now I should point out that this isn’t exactly my idea. It’s God’s.
Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
I know a lot of us have been involved in or fall victim to bad situations, or destructive relationships, or lousy bosses, etc. But a mind and a heart and a voice that focus on and gives praise and thanks, even in those situations, is one that is full of and in tune with the very Spirit of God. By focusing on the negative, we are in essence having the good that is also present ripped away and stolen from us. Satan loves when all we can see, in any given situation, is that which we causes us to complain and bicker. Because it gets our focus off of God. But it takes intentionality and energy to sift through the bad and find the good, but if you are willing to do it, I am confidant that life will look and feel and turn out very differently. God promises exactly that.
So what do you say? Let’s start a new mini-revolution. No more FML. How about TTL – Thank The Lord! Or LML – Love my Life! Tell us what God is doing in your life. Tell us how and in what ways your are experiencing His goodness.
This isn’t bragging or boasting, it is simply acknowledging that in every situation, God’s provision and grace are present. And it is up to us to recognize it and call others to do the same.
I’ll go first – I have spent the afternoon writing this article, while at the same time watching my beautiful baby girl play alongside me. She has such a joyful little spirit and boy does she love bouncing around in her jumper! God truly hand crafted this little girl and I am forever grateful he sent her my way – TTL!
Sorry Zebras
If I were to ask you to describe a Zebra to someone who had never seen one, you might say things like, “Well, it’s kinda like a horse, but smaller…it’s similar to a donkey, but more muscular…and it kinda has stripes like a tiger but less colorful…”. And although you would do your best and come close, most zebras would probably be a little insulted by the description (sorry Zebras).
That’s exactly what I see happening when I read Ezekiel 1:26-28. This morning I read a devotional by Andrew Wilson in his book “Incomparable” about this very thing. This is what he said.
The prophet Ezekiel is given a vision, a glimpse of the glory of God. The things he sees are pretty spectacular: windstorms, clouds, fire, gleaming metal, lightning, sparkling bronze, lions, oxen, eagles, wheels, rushing waters, an expanse of crystal, a sapphire throne, rainbows. Yet, after he describes all of this, he says, in essence, “It was kind of like all of that stuff. God’s glory looked a little similar to something that was ever so slightly like this, but it was so much more”. Why would he say this? Because the glory of our God is indescribable and too marvelous for us too ever fully comprehend.
Read that statement again because it is incredible important.
Our understanding of God is riddled with things we cannot explain properly, and this makes him more glorious, not less. Ezekiel combines all of these apparently contradictory elements when describing God – lion and ox, windstorm and rainbow, fire and water. And the Bible is full of even more of them – God being One, but Father, Son, and Spirit all being different persons. Jesus is perfectly man, and perfectly the living one who died, the High Priest and the sacrifice. God has created people with real choices, yet his sovereignty means that his choices are ultimate. God fills the heavens and the earth, yet dwelt in an ark, a tent, a temple, and now in individuals.
No wonder Ezekiel says it was “kinda of like this or that”. You try describing this God and it would probably sound a lot like Ezekiel, “fiery storm clouds, four faced living creatures, each with their own eye covered wheel, under a massive crystal wok, etc.” This doesn’t need to weird us out, it is designed to show us how beyond our comprehension God really is. Scoffer’s will always try to play off God’s attributes against each other, as if the Most High could be reduced to a few simple statements. But we worship a God who is everything Scripture says he is, even if we don’t understand how.
The point is this: God is at his most glorious when he is beyond our comprehension. The Trinity, the Word becoming flesh, the cross, the resurrection - these are impossible things to fully understand yet they are the center of our faith and the most glorious things we have ever heard or seen. Especially in a university environment where we are trying to “figure everything out”, we must not be surprised when we encounter truths we cannot grasp and depths we cannot fathom. We need not question or doubt or become frustrated. We simply need to stop and behold the glory of God.