Archive for the ‘Family’ Category
June 15, 2009
For those of you don’t know, some people have declared today National Man Day. It all started as a grassroots Facebook movement and has grown from there. At least 260,000 men have pledged to do something manly on June 15. I’m sure the fair-minded Federal Government will be making it official to promote gender equality (hear the sarcasm dripping from my keyboard).
Frankly, I think all of these ‘national’ days are stupid—when did we start celebrating mediocrity? Let’s celebrate when people do exceptional things; but let’s just keep moving forward when people do what they’re created to do. It’s like they say in football: “When you score a touchdown, act like you’ve done it before” (feel free to apply this metaphor to anything men like to do).
So how about we chuck this whole man-day thing and be manly everyday. Contrary to what our culture tells us, it’s okay to be a man (just saw a Gillette commercial telling men how to shave their chest and armpit hair, no kidding!). Can’t our manhood be the rule not the exception? Can’t we be strong and courageous, adventurous and daring, direct and honest, everyday?
Let’s take our friends fishing, our sons hunting, and our bikes onto the open road on a regular basis! Let’s get out of our boring basements and onto the battlefields of spiritual warfare—that’s something our wives would love to see! Let’s get out of our 9-to-5’s and keep one eye in the moment and one eye on the future. Let’s be proud of “the Grind,” so long as “the Grind” is an avenue to greatness for our families and our faith. In short, let’s boldly be what God created us to be: Men.
Posted in Family, culture | Tagged manhood, manly, National Man Day | 3 Comments »
June 6, 2009
This week someone said to me: there is no right or wrong, you just do what’s best for your family. While I agree that we must do what is best for our families, there is right and wrong (it’s called Truth); and doing what is right is always the best thing to do. So I thought I’d share a couple application points from a recent sermon I preached called “Absolute Truth Exists, Absolutely.” It’s just a couple of notes about the problem with thinking that truth does not exist.
First, if truth does not exist, then Might makes Right. If there is no such thing as truth, then whoever is the most powerful gets to determine what is right. The top of the food chain gets to decide what is right and moral. If they determine that they need your land, they get to confiscate it. If they determine they need your money, they get to tax it. If they determine they need your service, they get to enslave you. If there’s no absolute truth then there are no inalienable human rights. Right and wrong are relative to whoever is making the decisions. The people with the most power decide what is right because there’s no truth to contradict, to contain, or to expose them. If there is no truth then there is only tyranny.
Second, if truth does not exist, then everyday living is impossible. Think about it: If you can’t know anything for sure then you can’t do anything for sure. Francis Schaeffer “cites the famous example of the composer John Cage, whose commitment to pure chance was so strong that he believed that no one musical note or sequence or combination of notes is better than any other. Thus he chose his notes by pure chance. However, as a mushroom connoisseur, he knew he might die if he picked and ate mushrooms at random, regardless of their shape, size, or color. Hence, when he gathered mushrooms, he went strictly by the book, in contradiction to his asserted relativism.”[1]
Relativism simply doesn’t work. Think about it like this: If you can’t know anything for sure then you dare not get inside your car because you can’t know if it’s going to blow up when you turn the ignition, or just start the engine. Nor can you know if it will stop when you hit the brakes if you can’t know truth. Every single time we get out of bed we do so with a set of assumptions and truths that we live by! If truth does not exist then everyday living is impossible.
Third, if truth does exist, then we need to abide by it. If truth does exist, and if we can know truth, then we need to abide by it. At previous times we’ve established the fact that truth does exist. And we’ve asserted that truth is knowable and that it’s most reliable source is the Scriptures. Therefore we have a responsibility to abide by the teachings of Scripture.
Most people reject the idea of truth, not because they don’t believe in truth per se, but because they don’t want to abide by God’s truths. They’d rather have it their own way. And rather than acknowledging their contempt for God’s ways they simply disallow the idea of truth altogether. Even the Bible says: “Where there is no law there is no transgression.”[2] In other words, if we can’t know the truth then we can’t be held accountable for our sin. But if we can know the truth then we are not only accountable for our sin, but we are responsible for following the truth.
[These ideas are adapted from Jack Cottrell's book Faith's Fundamentals: Seven Essentials of the Christian Faith.]
[1]Francis Schaeffer,
The God Who Is There (Inter-Varsity Press, 1968), p. 72-74.
[2] Romans 4:15
Posted in Family, Politics, church, culture, religion | Tagged Absolute Truth, does truth exist, might makes right, morality vs. relativism, right vs. wrong, truth | 1 Comment »
June 1, 2009
I mostly enjoy Mondays. Traditionally, I spend the morning at a coffee shop reading my Bible, doing some journaling, reflecting on the week that past, and planning for the week that is. At least one Monday a month I work with Ignite Church Planting, Chicagoland and that always gets me excited.
Except for today. Today I’ve got the Melancholy-Monday Syndrome.
Maybe it’s because its dark and dreary outside. Maybe it’s because I slept terribly and had crazy dreams last night; or maybe it’s because I haven’t slept well at all since the Exponential Conference in April. Maybe it’s because there’s an emotional letdown after a very busy Sunday. Maybe it’s because I’ve worked all day, every day, for 8 of the past 9 days (I’m not complaining, I prefer it that way). Maybe it’s because my oldest son still has a week-and-half of school left before Summer vacation (unbelievable!). Maybe it’s because of the 220+ people who died this morning on an Air France flight. Maybe it’s because the notorious late-term abortion doctor, George Tiller, was slain in a church yesterday (I’m not shedding any tears for Tiller but neither am I rejoicing; in fact I’m rather conflicted spiritually about this).
For whatever reason, or maybe for all these reasons, I’m experiencing a very melancholy Monday. But Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the Day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” I’m going to rejoice in this day, but I may need a little inspiration.
Posted in Family, Politics, church, culture, religion | Tagged Air France Crash, Exponential Conference, George Tiller, Ignite Church Planting, melancholy monday, Starbucks | Leave a Comment »
May 28, 2009
This morning I read Genesis 26 in my quiet time with God and this chapter is all about Legacy. It’s about Abraham’s financial legacy of wealth, and spiritual legacy of blessing, being passed onto his son Isaac. Sadly, its also about Abraham’s legacy of sin being passed to his son Isaac and his grandson Esau—specifically, his track-record with women. Both Isaac and Esau commit the same sexual blunders as Abraham.
I think the point is that we as parents pass our success, as well as our failures, onto our children. They will succeed in some of the areas we have succeeded. But they will also fail in many of the areas where we have failed. In many cases, our habits will become their habits and our addictions will become theirs. Therefore we have a responsibility, not only as people not to harbor and hold onto bad habits, but as parents to ensure that the legacy passed onto our children is honorable and godly.
Posted in Family, church, culture | Tagged Abraham, Esau, Genesis 26, Isaac, Legacy | 1 Comment »
May 21, 2009
2 Corinthians 5:9 says: “Therefore, we make it our aim, whether present of absent, to be well pleasing to Him” (NKJV). Here the Apostle declares the aim (or goal) of his life: to be well pleasing to God.
What are you goals in life? To experience romance. To attain academic excellence. To have a house, 2.5 kids, and a dog named Spot. To make a million dollars. To be the best at whatever you do. To achieve fame and/or significance. What is your life’s aim—what are you shooting for?
For the Apostle it is rather simple: to please God.
What I immediately notice is the unselfishness of his goal. It’s not about getting stuff, proving something, living up to someone else, or being better than the rest. He simply hopes that his life will be pleasing to God. But he doesn’t just hope. He makes it his mission, his passion, his life’s work.
Is your goal in life to please God? Does it wake you up in the morning, lay you down at night, and govern who you are in between? What you do with your time—does it please God? What you do with your money—does it please God? What you eat and drink—does it please God? What you say to your coworkers—does it please God? How you treat your spouse—does it please God? Have you made it your aim to please God?
Sadly, most of us just try to please ourselves.
Making it our goal to please God is not easy. But three verses might be an asset in this discussion. The first is Hebrews 11:6 which says: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” The second is 1 John 5:3 which says: “This is love for God: to obey His commands” (NIV).
And the third is found in John 2 in a record of the events surrounding Jesus’ first miracle. It’s during a wedding feast. Unfortunately, the wedding-planner has failed to secure enough wine for the party (a pretty big social fax paux in 1st century Israel), and Mary asks Jesus to solve the problem.
Interestingly enough, Jesus doesn’t seem real keen on doing this but yields to his mother’s request, asking the servants to fill six large vats with water. When they look at Him with confusion Mary says to the servants “Do whatever He tells you” (John 2:5 NIV). Enabled by their obedience, Jesus turns the water into wine.
It’s a simple statement, yet profound in our discussion. Do you want to make it your life’s goal to please God? Then do whatever He tells you.
Posted in Family, church, culture, religion | Tagged 1 John 5:3, 2 Corinthians 5:9, John 2:5, life's goals, mission, purpose, why are we here | 1 Comment »
May 19, 2009
Several weeks ago, while attending a church-planting conference, a conviction developed inside of me that I was not spending enough time with God. Not being overly mystical, I nevertheless felt that God was telling me to mark out more time for Him—time to pray, time to read Scripture devotionally, and time to journal my thoughts, prayers, and struggles. This conviction hit me when I learned of thousands of Eastern Christians in the Orient who are setting aside 3 hours a day for prayer and personal Bible study.
Therefore, I began the discipline of marking out time for God. Thinking that I should begin and end my day with God, I began to get up earlier and stay up later so that my time with Him did not take away from my time with family, friends and work. And what better way, then to start and end the day, with God?
And I must confess that it began only as a discipline. The first morning, when my alarm sounded at 5:30am, was a rough one. I hit the coffee maker before I hit the Word. But the second morning was easier. And the third easier still. Also, spending an hour in prayer and devotional study was not easy. What to pray? What to read? How to keep from falling asleep? That’s why they call it discipline, I suppose, because it’s not easy.
However, my discipline is now being transformed into desire. I’m anticipating my times with God in the morning. I’m finding the television in the evening to be monotonous. I’m looking forward to my prayer journal, and my devotional books, and maybe most, my Bible. I’m reading things that challenge me—and I like to be challenged—things that could change me. My passion for God is being renewed once again—and I find myself spending more time with Him throughout the day (and appreciating Him in my work and in my play). Discipline has become desire.
I wonder how many other areas of my life need the catalyst of discipline. It takes discipline to exercise but eventually it becomes a desire. It takes discipline to love the unlovable, but eventually the unlovable become desirable. How many areas of our lives could God transform if we were willing to accept His discipline and embrace self-discipline? I don’t know for sure, but I do know that my spiritual disciplines have become spiritual desires—and for this I rejoice.
Posted in Family, church, culture, religion | Tagged devotions, personal devotions, quiet time, spiritual desires, spiritual disciplines, time with God | 1 Comment »
May 13, 2009
In Genesis 15 and 16 we discover an epic dilemma in the life of Abraham and Sarah. The dilemma is that Sarah is barren and cannot produced an heir, and that she is now well beyond her child-bearing years. Therefore, in Genesis 15 Abraham decides to choose his highest-ranking servant Eliezer as his heir. But when Abraham prays about this decision, God intervenes and says “no.”
Then in Genesis 16 Sarah suggests that Abraham should take her servant Hagar as a surrogate wife and conceive with her, producing an heir vicariously. Apparently, Abraham likes this idea and (rather than praying for direction) sleeps with Hagar, who conceives. This creates all sorts of struggles within the family—prompting feelings of inadequacy and bitterness for Sarah, and rivalry for Hagar.
The bigger problem is that Abraham and Sarah, rather than waiting on God’s plan and promise to be fulfilled, decide to take matters into their own hands. This creates all sorts of trouble for them and even for us today (if you know your history).
For us, it means that we must wait on God’s will to become evident in our lives–we cannot run ahead of His will. Things must take place in His time. We need to be diligent and proactive, but everything we do should be (1) bathed in prayer; (2) approved by the Word; and (3) affirmed by godly Consults; because the consequences of going ahead of God can be disastrous.
Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.”
Posted in Family, Politics, church, culture, religion | Tagged Abraham, Abraham and Hagar, Abraham and Sarah, Abram, Genesis 15, Genesis 16, God's will, going ahead of god's will, Ishmael, knowing God's will, Sarah, Sarai, Source of Islam, waiting on God | 2 Comments »
May 9, 2009
In my devotional time today I read Genesis 13 which is part of the Abrahamic narrative. In the narrative both Abraham and his nephew Lot have become incredibly wealthy. They have left their homeland to follow God, they have experienced some bumps and bruises along the way, but in this chapter they find themselves in the land of Canaan (otherwise known as the Promised Land).
The particular land they choose to inhabit is not big enough for both men. Their flocks are so vast, their possessions so many, that division develops between the Family. Their workers and shepherds begin fighting and it becomes evident that something must change. They simply cannot share the land any longer. They must separate for the sake of family unity.
So Abraham gives his nephew Lot the choice of land. There are two regions. One is very fertile, and one is not so much. The former is prosperous, but the latter is not. Abraham tells Lot to pick his region, promising to inhabit whatever land Lot leaves behind. As most of us would do, Lot picks the fertile and prosperous land where he will have the greatest opportunity and chance for success.
But there is more to this story than meets the eye. It’s a lesson in the classic tension between spirituality and success.
Abraham takes the moral high-ground of working for family peace and harmony while Lot takes the ambitious road of prosperity and success. And Abraham’s choice will be blessed by God while Lot will suffer the consequences. Abraham’s family will be established and become a great nation. Lot’s marriage will be destroyed and his entire family line will be corrupted. And it all started with the choice to make success and prosperity a higher calling than family and faith.
Posted in Family, church, culture, religion | Leave a Comment »
May 7, 2009
As I go back and read through my prayer journal I see a recurring theme: the prayer for safety. “God, please keep my family safe, please keep my marriage safe, please keep my children safe.” Two weeks ago when I was traveling across country I was praying for “travel safety.” When ever I listen to others pray I often hear them calling on the Lord for “safety.” But as I’m spending time in prayer and study this morning I’m convicted that we need to stop praying for safety.
Did Abraham pray for safety as he left his homeland to follow the Lord? Did Moses pray for safety when he confronted the king of Egypt? Did David pray for safety before he faced the Philistine Gladiator? Did Daniel pray for safety when prayer was outlawed in Babylon? Did Jesus pray for safety, ever? Did the early church leaders make the issue of safety part of their prayers? The answer is no. They didn’t pray for safety. They prayed for boldness, power and purpose; but rarely if ever prayed for protection and safety.
Why do we pray for safety? Are we still too materialistic and naturalistic? Are we afraid of death or disaster? Are we afraid of failure?
I think that great men and women of God would rather go down in glorious failure than to live boring, uneventful lives that make no tangible difference in the world! They are far less concerned about their own comfort and far more concerned about God’s Kingdom. They pray for the opposite of safety. They pray for danger! They want to walk in the footsteps of Christ. They want to be counted among the great cloud of witnesses ushering in the Kingdom of God. But they do not want to be safe.
I’m tired of safety. I’m bored with the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday grind. I’m tired of low-vision and safe-living. I’m ready to go to whomever and wherever the Lord leads me. May God send me to Chicago, or to New York, or to Haiti, or to London, or to Nairobi, or to Moscow, or to Brisbane; but may he not condemn me to living a safe life!
Posted in Family, church, religion | Tagged dangerous living, living with purpose, National Day of Prayer, prayers for safety | 1 Comment »
May 5, 2009
A friend on Facebook posted a thought-provoking quote that I’d like to share:
“The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because the minute we understand, we are obliged to act accordingly.” —Soren Kierkegaard
Posted in Family, church, culture, religion | Tagged soren kierkegaard, understanding the bible | Leave a Comment »
