Love the Lord's Discipline? -

This is a follow-up from yesterday's blog, which is posted below this one:

Hebrews 12:5 "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord ,nor be weary when reproved by him.6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7.... God is treating you as sons... If you are left without discipline..., then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

What if life were always easy for you or for me? What if we flew through this life with no trials and afflictions, sufferings or hardships? It would mean one simple thing. Jesus does not love you. What an amazing thought. Lack of trials means lack of love. It would mean we are illegitimate children and will not enter his kingdom. If God loves us he must do what is best for us. And what is best for us is our loving discipline. I for one hate discipline, but I know I need it. Just as I needed it from my earthy father and I need it so much more from my heavenly father. Lord - Thank you for bringing about the difficult and unpleasant things in my life - it may sound strange to the world, but it makes me feel loved.

Trusting Him in the Fire

I was thinking recently on how to deal with disappointments. How should we handle events and circumstances that don't go as planned? What should be our guiding thoughts as we deal with difficult time or things that in general just don't go as planned? As I thought this through, what kept coming back to me over and over again was, "Do you trust Him?" Quite a simple question and yet the answer is powerful. Do I trust him? Do I trust that he is good, that he is wise, that he loves me, and is doing what's best for me? The resounding answer in my soul was very much "I do!" I am thankful for that response, for that is not our natural reaction, it is a supernatural one. And as I thought about how much I trust him, I became increasingly at peace with the circumstances I find myself in. It was a wave of comfort that kept growing stronger and stronger. I believe, in the very core of my being, that he knows what he's doing. He is in control. Not only is he sovereignly in control, but he uses that sovereignty to see that all things work for my good! That is unspeakably precious to me. He has the power to do all things and He works that mighty power on my behalf. Sure things might not be easy at every turn and certainly not always enjoyable. But even those hard times are being carefully orchestrated for my everlasting benefit. I picture Jesus standing with a blow torch. He turns it on me every now and then. It can be extremely painful, often times almost unbearable, but it is not meant to hurt me. It is designed to burn all the garbage off of me me so that one day I "will shine like the sun in the kingdom of my father." He has refining purposes. And oh how I need to be refined. There is much sin that needs cleansing in the fire of his love. It seems the greatest disappointments and the hardest trials are the greatest source of refinement. He is building our faith so that we better realize that one day in his courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

As I thought more about this I began to think: What is our best evidence that we can trust Him. My first thought and I think the greatest answer is that he was faithful to his promise by sending Jesus to die on a cross. You see seven hundred years before Christ was born, God promised through Isaiah that his "Servant" would be crushed, bruised, and chastised - and this would be for our salvation. And seven hundred years later it came true. There never has been nor ever will there be a greater promise than this. And there has never been an emotionally harder promise to fulfil. To consider God the Father looking down on his Son and watching the mocking, watching the spitting, watching the beating, watching the whipping, watching the crown of thorns, watching the nails in the hands, watching the spear in his side, and hearing the most unbearable words a Father could hear, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me", without breaking his promise is mind blowing. And it MUST be the hardest act of promise keeping in the history of the universe. Never was the the trustworthiness of God's Word so beautifully, powerfully, and preciously displayed than on Calvary. Is he trustworthy? The question almost seems silly given the answer. He is absolutely faithful to his Word. He is always to be trusted and he never breaks his promises. When God says, "No good thing will he withhold from those whose walk is blameless" - He means it. What an amazing source of joy and encouragement. That is why the psalmist can say in Psalm 28:7 "The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart rejoices, and with my song I give thanks to him!!!" Amen.

I end by reminding you and myself - "Don't begrudge the hard times." They are designed for our refinement. And always trust Him. He is faithful to his Word when he says, "All things work together for good." Believe him - He sent his Son to die so that you might know his love, goodness, and never changing faithfulness.

Reflections on a Psalm

I hate the double-minded,
but I love your Law.

You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your Word.

Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the Commandments of my God.

Uphold me according to your Promise,
that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope!

Hold me up,
that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually.

You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning in in vain.

All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,
therefore I love your testimonies.

My flesh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgments.
(Psalm 119:113-120)

As we read Scripture, I think it's important that we put ourselves somewhere in the text. We all do this by nature anyways, so why not make a habit of thinking through where we rightly fit?

My first instinct as I read this text is to insert myself into the place of the Psalmist, but as I thought about and meditated on this text this morning at Starbucks, I realized that the person I have the most in common with is the double-minded, the evildoer and the wicked who truly doesn't fear God as I ought.

But instead of just talking about what I thought through, I'll just share what I wrote in my oft-neglected journal.

"Lord, I am the double-minded, wicked evildoer, and I am not even wise enough for my flesh to tremble before you in fear. I have gone astray from your Statutes and plotted against your Kingship in vain.

My God, my God, why have you not forsaken me? I deserve to be forsaken by you, I know. Your holy righteousness requires that I would be thrown out like dross.

But Jesus, you love God's Law, hide in God, hope in his Word, keep his Commandment, regard his Statutes, love his Testimonies and respond to him rightly--in the splendor of his holiness. Just as you have obeyed in my place, you have also been rejected, forsaken and damned in my place.

Thank you, Jesus, for mending my double-mindedness and hiding my in the wounds of your flesh. Christ, the Word of the Father, I hope in you, and I am confident by your grace that you will not fail me in this hope. Here I stand.

Help me to walk as you have walked--courageously obedient to the Father--because you have bought my life by the blood of your Eternal Covenant.

Amen."

Casey's New Blog

So I have set up a new blog, recklessragingfaithful. Fear not, I have intentions (if not every intention) to keep contributing periodically to the recklessragingfury, but alas, I have decided to venture out into uncharted waters (wow, that sounds kinda dramatic) and blog specifically about waiting tables and the lessons I learn there. 

We'll see how it turns out! Thanks for reading!

Here's the link:

spiritualwaiter.blogspot.com

Passing the Time Part II

     So whatever redeeming the time is, that apparently does not include commenting on the reckless raging fury. But I have been doing some thinking on the subject, so worry not reckless raging faithful. 

     The phrase 'redeem the time' is found in Paul's letter to the churches in a city called Ephesus. He had been telling them all about the amazing love of God for them. The love of the Father who had chosen them; the love of the Son who had died for them; the love of the Spirit who had sealed them in Him. He had told them about how God's love made them alive when they were dead. He had told them how God was building them up in Him. He had told them what a new life could look like when God changes a life. 

     Well, if you're like me, and I'm guessing you are since you're still reading, you'd be fine just leaving the letter as I have described. These pesky practical addresses like the one on my mind lately tend to gnaw at me. Paul tells us to walk wisely and this is part of a wise walk. Not wasting time- redeeming it.

     Here's what's incredible about all of this. We are not called to do this on our own. Paul's initial encouragement to the people and to us is to 'be imitators of God, as beloved children'. We are talking about life as sons and daughters of God. This is not a burdensome command, to make the most out of our time. This is something that makes perfect sense.

     We don't waste time like those around us not because we are any better than anyone else but because we are loved by our Father. And so often when there is nothing to do at work I find myself checking my iphone to see what's new somewhere on the internet when there are image-bearers of God all around me. I am loved by my Father and I should be like him in that I am engaging in conversation and investing in the lives of those around me. I shouldn't compete with those around me but should encourage them on and even pick up their slack when I can, whether it makes me look better or not. 

     Let's redeem the time. Let's make the most out of our days because they are short. Lets make the most out of our time because we are living in the light of the fact that our Maker loves us so much that He gave Himself for us. Let's not pass the time- let's redeem it!

Passing the Time

     As I sit in class I'm looking to pass the time. Isn't it interesting how we look at time? We are constantly constrained by how much time we have on our hands. I have been waking up late over the past couple of weeks. The snooze alarm somehow has looked extraordinarily attractive and as a result, I've been keenly aware of time. 

     As followers of Jesus, we are told that we are to make the best of the time. We are encouraged to redeem the time. I don't know about you but when I hear that, I want to do it. I want to redeem the time instead of just passing it. 

     What does it mean to redeem the time? Any thoughts?

Hearts Aflame: Rated R

     Right now I am in a place I thought only hours ago that I would never be: sitting on the couch with a cold beer in my hand. Today has been an absolute circus. I worked from ten in the

 morning to twelve-thirty at night. I can't begin to number the amount of times I either uttered or thought the "f word". I warned those around me to keep me away from sharp objects and explosive things. That's right. Its Valentines day. I work in a restaurant. 

     Its an odd love-hate relationship restaurants have with single-awareness day. On one hand, of course, we love to take money from our supporters. After all, who can argue with a night that you are continually making money, right? Well, the argument goes something like this: here's a night with continual action from people who have never been to the restaurant (or apparently any restaurant without a large yellow "m" outside) and have no clue how to tip or act on such a night. 

      Here's a word of advice. If you insist on going out to eat on Valentine's day, be sure to have some clue as to what you want to order. This is not a night that the server particularly wants to walk you through the menu and give you time to overlook the establishment's fine board of fare. We want you in and out because we need to turn your table. Sad. But true. Also, it would be a great idea to tip appropriately. That means between eighteen and twenty percent. That does not mean twelve percent and an atta boy. That means eighteen to twenty percent. 

      You know, this world is a strange place. I had a table of four last night and there was an old lady that absolutely hated me. I've served her and her husband before and he loves me. We always get along great- but this woman...wow! Anyways, she was going ahead and telling me for the first hour how to do my job. "We need more rolls...I want to the rest of those oysters in a box...we need extra dressing...we need more rolls...I want those oysters in a box...we need extra dressing" (yes, it was that annoying). Well, it was late and I was tired so I had just about enough of somebody telling me how to do my job. I looked her straight in the eye and said, "Ma'am, you know, they pay me to do this!" Believe it or not, this table full of people over twice my age all loved it! Her husband thanked ME for my PATIENCE afterward!!!!

      You know, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I think that all aspiring pastors should be forced into the work camp known as the service industry. Being able to put up with people when your rent is on the line is a very helpful initiative. Being able to take abuse straight to the face without responding is par for the restaurant course. Really makes you think about what Jesus did. Becoming a man and humbling himself to the point of death on a cross. That changed the world.

     Just wanted to keep you updated recklessraging faithful. Hope you are well and far from any cheese-wheels this Valentine's Day. Much Love.

Casey

    What do you think about when you think about heaven? Are there harps involved? Wings and haloes perhaps? What about those Charmin-soft clouds? When I was young, I distinctly remember imagining God as image of a vase of flowers. Don't ask me why I thought that- I'm sure its nobody's fault! But for some reason, Hank Williams Jr.'s song "If Heaven Ain't alot Like Dixie...I'd just as soon stay home" gains some credence when we picture heaven like this. I mean, really, are you looking for a place with ambient music and soft voices? Are you willing to take up your cross and follow Jesus every day so you can play a golden harp? Probably not.

     I've been reading through the book of Revelation lately and I came across something that sparked my imagination. In chapter 21, John is describing this crazy vision he's had of the end of time and he describes the city of God. I must have read over these details fifty times but this time I noticed something a bit odd.  

      "And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

      Isn't that crazy! One day all things will be new. That doesn't mean that we will go away some place. God is going to renew the heavens and the earth. Everything will be new. But catch this: The city of God comes down to live in the new earth! We will fly away but not to a surreal wimpy, boring world. We will fly away to be glorified- to be made able to live in the same city that God lives in!!!! We will fly away to be made able to see his face!

     One more thing stood out to me. Catch this: "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people and he will be with them as their God."

    The end of the story of redemption is only the beginning. God will be with us and we with Him. All the former things passing away like tears, mourning, crying and pain are by-products of God and us living in the same city forever and ever! 

    God comes down, is born of a woman and is obedient to the point of death on the cross (see Philippians 2) so that one day we will live with Him. That day doesn't end. We will live with Him and He with us. What do you think about when you think about heaven? 

Musings on Spirituality

        So I'm sitting in a class yesterday called "Early Christian Spirituality" and the professor asked a simple question: "What is spirituality?". 'Well', I thought to myself, 'I am in seminary and I've been studying theology and philosophy for the last seven years. This is kind of a basic question for a dude like me.' I had a moment of thoughts like this until my pen hit the paper. What is spirituality? Wow- that's about as loaded a question as I think I may ever have heard. 

Amazingly enough, my classmates and I set down to answer this question, generously sharing our volumes of wisdom with one another. The attempts at an answer to this qu

ery were, to say the least, involved. Once you start to define something like spirituality, you feel the urge to continue to qualify your statement. Yes, it's about God and man and the soul but not only the soul but not only any 'god' but not just any man...whew. 

Anyhow, after balking at offering my answer to such a question, I said, "God and man in conversation". I know that's at best a vague statement but in the last day, at least, I haven't come up with anything better. If you can, by all means, let me know because I'm more than willing to re-think it. 

        Well, you know me, seldom at a loss for words, I awaited my opportunity to say more of what I actually was thinking. Once the discussion started, I put in my two cents. I said "I don't really think spirituality is something that you can define. I think that's why we write poems and songs and books and draw things. I think spirituality is not something we can define so much as something in which to participate."

          We have been invited, no, purchased into the life of God. That takes over every aspect of our lives. My spiritual life doesn't turn on and off when I stop singing a worship song or devoting my time to specific prayer. Our connection with God covers our entire lives because Christ bought every part of our lives. Spirituality is life because we are not able to separate the dimensions of our lives like they were parts of a whole. 

          Life is spiritual. Work is spiritual. Literature is spiritual. Music is spiritual. Art is spiritual. Relationships are spiritual. We live a spiritual life and that means that at every moment we are either moving closer to or further away from God in our relationship with him.

        

                                Well, that's my two cents. What do you think? 

Amazing Abortion Ad

Warning: This is not a position paper on the End Times!!!!

So I am sitting down right now watching Air Force One about to get boarded by Barack Obama, thus proving the fact that he is the 44th president. All the hype can be a bit much and I really hope people don't expect Barack to be Jesus- because, like the rest of us, he is mortal and broken and will let us down. Regardless, I am excited to see Barack take office and captivated to hear him speak. 

I don't know how much the rest of you read various nut-jobs on the internet, but there are definitely people on the fine world wide web who are convinced Obama is the antichrist found especially discussed in the oft-abused book of Revelation. Let me say that is RIDICULOUS! Ok, now that that's out of the way, thinking about the antichrist reminds me of something I was reading last night. 

         In Revelation 13, John describes the "mark of the beast". What stood out to me is the fact that "no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the

 number of its name". Now, whatever your position on the end times (I could literally care less), what stood out to me was the fact that following the beast is placed in economic terms. This regime is best framed in the context of money. People following the beast are defined by their ability to buy and sell. 

        Singer-Songwriter Brett Dennen describes our current ideals with the following words: "People walk around pushing back their debts; wearing paychecks like necklaces and bracelets. Talkin bout nothin not thinking bout death; every little heartbeat, every little breath." Look around you, we are so often defined by what we do and how much money we make.

       In the very next chapter, the 144,000 following the Lamb are described. Look at how John describes them: 

"And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of the harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures an before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth."

      Look, those following the beast are defined by what they do- how much money they make- while those following the Lamb are defined by a song. For all the things you could say about the difference between followers of Jesus and followers of the beast, I think it is absolutely beautiful to think in terms of economics vs. harmonics. Our God engages us so that we react in worship. 

     All of us are worshipping all the time. Are you worshipping your ability to buy and sell or are you joining in the underground, growing and swelling song of the Lamb?

Religionless Christianity

So I was reading on Garrett's blog  and I came across a special request (sorry it took me a month to respond) to post my paper on Religionless Christianity for the viewing pleasure of the recklessraging faithful so without further ado, here it is mom:

INTRODUCTION

The world has long been waiting for the possibility of a religionless Christianity. John Lennon wrote about utopian society with these words: “Imagine there’s no countries; it isn’t hart to do; nothing to kill or die for; and no religion too. Imagine all the people living life in peace.”[1] With bated breath, it seems, the on-looking world is waiting for a breed of Christians who are no longer Christians. They are looking for a faith that does not exclude them. They are looking for a faith that throws off the old customs that have long been keeping them from imagining the thought of stepping inside the local church.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, like Karl Barth before him, saw there was coming day when there would be a religionless Christianity. Even the mere mention of this phrase elicits an immediate Evangelical skepticism. After the dust had settled on the Second World War, Bonhoeffer and his fellow German theologians received a close look by the philosophically elite of the world. In an article written in April of 1963 in Time Magazine, the idea of a religionless Christianity was hailed as necessary change. The Right Reverend John A.T. Robinson, a bishop in the Church of England, had attached himself to the theology of Rudolf Bultmann, who had come from the same stream of theological thought of Bonhoeffer and Barth. Robinson was teaching the ever-desirable doctrine that all the mythology of the bible was simply that- mythology. It may have been helpful in the day when folks were uneducated but for the twentieth century?

The article had Robinson, on the fringes of theological responsibility, partnering with the posthumous Bonhoeffer. “Fortified by such insights (as Paul Tillich’s “ground of all being” argument), Robinson believes, the church may grow into what the late German Lutheran Dietrich Bonhoeffer called ‘religionless Christianity”- a spare and stripped-down vital faith.”[2]

In response to this categorization of Bonhoeffer, Baptist theologian Mark Devine summarized the meaning of religionless Christianity with the following statement: “When seen in the context of Barthian dogmatism (Barth’s starting point for all theology was the revelation of God), Bonhoeffer’s call for a religionless Christianity must be seen as a quest for the recovery of true Christianity and of the true church, not their abandonment or abolition as some have argued.”[3]

What did Bonhoeffer, author of some of the most formative material in the past century and modern martyr, had in mind with the term “religionless Christianity”? Could it be that he was trying to strip down Christianity into a user-friendly version? Is it possible that the bold author who berated his own church for their easy-believe-ism and “cheap grace” in The Cost of Discipleship would later recant of his orthodoxy and turn outside to where Bultmann, Tillich and later Robinson lived? Or is it more likely that he was aiming at a recovery of the true church as opposed to some new Enlightenment-inspired thought? This paper will examine the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the topic of religionless Christianity to determine not only his meaning by the phrase but also the post-modern application of religionless Christianity. The paper will lastly include a short review of Bonhoeffer’s understanding of the coming day of religionless Christianity.

 

 

BONHOEFFER’S CONTEXT

The main source in the discussion of religionless Christianity in Bonhoeffer was his letters to his best friend Eberhard Bethge. Here Bonhoeffer discusses explicitly what his other works contain and what he was coming to formulate more and more in prison. He was struggling as he spent more and more time in Tegel with the issue that had long driven his theology, namely, what it meant to be a Christian in his own time.

The struggle he was enduring in Tegel had been continuing since the beginning of the Nazi takeover of his homeland Germany. The Barmen Declaration, mainly penned by his theological mentor Karl Barth, dealt with what it would mean to be a Christian in the Third Reich. As was previously mentioned in this work, Barth’s theological starting point was the revelation of God, the prevailing theme in defining the Christian’s place. “The basis for confidence is the discovery that for oneself, for other Christians, and for the Church as enduring and expanding Christian community, the dynamic life of Jesus Christ as revelation of God has become a vital premise for all thought and action that have in view the ultimate significance of human living.”[4] The only thing that mattered in defining the Christian life for Barth and the Confessing Church was the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Bonhoeffer seemed to be constantly thinking through what it meant to be a Christian in his own time. In his most widely read work, The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer went to great lengths to define the Christian life in his own context. His chapter the Christian’s love for his enemies is a good example of this struggle. It is fascinating that the man who would end up taking direct action to assassinate a major world leader believed what he did about the uniqueness of the Christian life. At one point in this chapter, Bonhoeffer wrote: “From now on there can be no more wars of faith. The only way to overcome our enemy is by loving him. To the natural man, the very notion of loving his enemies is an intolerable offence, and quite beyond his capacity: it cuts right across his ideas of good and evil…Jesus, however, takes the law of God in his own hands and expounds its true meaning.”[5]

It seems as if Bonhoeffer, as he struggled with what it meant to be a Christian in his own context, was never willing to get beyond the simplicity of Barth’s theology. It is God Himself that defines what it will mean to live the Christian life in any context. It will not be a council or a Reich or a human leader. Jesus defines the life of his follower by virtue of His incarnation.

In the final section of The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer takes great pains to define all of the Christian’s life in terms of the incarnate Christ. He understood the incarnation of Jesus alone to be formative in the life of a Christian. “The only constant factor throughout (the New Testament call narratives) is the sameness of Christ and his call then and now. His word is one and the same, whether it was addressed during his earthly life to the paralyzed or the disciples, or whether it is speaking to us today.”[6]

Bonhoeffer made his view even more explicit as he continued his discussion. He said: “The Scriptures do not present us with a series of Christian types to be imitated according to our choice: they present to us in every situation the one Jesus Christ. To Him alone I must listen. He is everywhere one and the same. To the question- where today do we hear the call of Jesus to discipleship, there is no other answer than this: Hear the Word, receive the Sacrament; in it hear Him Himself, and you will hear His call.”[7] Whatever religionless Christianity would be- if it was any continuation of Bonhoeffer’s earlier theology- it would be a return to the simplicity of following Jesus in whatever context the Christian finds himself.

Bonhoeffer’s struggle with the Christian’s role would continue through his imprisonment years after the Barmen Declaration and the writing of The Cost of Discipleship. He identified to Bethge in his aforementioned letters this ongoing struggle. He wrote: “What is bothering me incessantly is the question what Christianity really is, or indeed who Christ is for us today.”[8] This burning question was the impetus of Bonhoeffer’s religionless Christianity. John Robinson may well have cited him as a source for going back to Bultmann’s original theology, but what was the starting point in the early sixties in England? Certainly, the fact that Bonhoeffer was struggling throughout his life with this question in the context of world war, imprisonment, earth-shaking ethical issues and eventual execution places him in an altogether separate category from an academic’s attempt to weasel his way out of the embarrassment of accepting the virgin birth.

 

BONHOEFFER’S CONCERN

Bonhoeffer recognized that much of the religious system he inherited as a Lutheran was simply passed down a priori; that is, based upon a previously held idea. Before the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century, the colonization of the nineteenth century and the world wars of the twentieth century, Western man was born into a religious structure. Even in the pre-Constantine days, Western thought came from a religious starting point. Bonhoeffer saw religion a priori as something that was going away. “But if one day it becomes clear that this a priori does not exist at all, but was a historically conditioned and transient form of human self-expression, and if therefore people become radically religionless- and I think that is already more or less the case…- what does that mean for ‘Christianity’?”[9]

Bonhoeffer saw that much of the religious culture he had known was crumbling before his eyes. What would it mean if the tradition that was accepted wholesale by his own society was completely empty of any substance? That certainly was what appeared to be the case. The mainline church in his homeland was speaking in the same way it had been for the past four hundred years. Lutheran liturgy is also rich in the language that Christians have been speaking since the time of Jesus. Although the words of his church were right, the mainline church was complicit in a regime that, in the end, killed six million Jews in addition to the millions of other victims of a mad-man leader.

It stands to reason that the a priori understanding of what it meant to be a Christian was completely useless in the eyes of Bonhoeffer. What good could a religious system possibly be if it turned a blind eye to injustice? As an antidote to this disconnect, Bonhoeffer sought a true and undefiled religion- even if that meant some basic changes. If one had to choose between an empty shell of religion and a living, vibrant life that did not necessarily have the same type of refined gnat-straining that the religious system of his day had, it would only make sense to pursue a religionless Christianity. The entire world was in the best sense of the word ‘religionless’ and becoming more and more so. One had the decision to carry on in an empty religionless religion or to jump ship and follow Jesus reliousless-ly.

 

BONHOEFFER WRESTLES

“The question to be answered would surely be: What do a church, a community, a sermon, a liturgy, a Christian life mean in a religionless world?”[10] The burning question would begin to find its answers as Bonhoeffer pursued them. He went on to write: “In what way are we ‘religionless-secular’ Christians, in what way are we the ecclesia those who are called forth, not regarding ourselves from a religious point of view as specially favored, but rather as wholly belonging to the world? In that case Christ is no longer an object of religion, but something quite different, really the Lord of the world.”[11]

It is just this sort of statement that has caused Bonhoeffer to be labeled a universalist and a heretic by fundamentalist Evangelicals.[12] It is also this type of statement that makes the heart yearn for something more out of this thing we call Christianity. Bonhoeffer was not speaking of redemption of the entire world apart from Jesus in this context. He was not even speaking of redemption as a concept at this point, but instead what it means to live and think as a Christian in a post-Christian context.

Lest the reader fall under the impression that Bonhoeffer’s struggle was theoretical, he went on to explain to Bethge his solidarity with those outside the faith. “I often ask myself why a ‘Christian instinct’ often draws me more to the religionless people than to the religious, by which I don’t in the least mean with any evangelizing intention, but I might also say, ‘in brotherliness’.”[13] The struggle was real and practical just as the man himself. He was wrestling with the fact that being around the religious and their jargon made him “awkward and uncomfortable”. He felt as if “we are trying anxiously in this way to reserve some space for God; I should like to speak of God not on the boundaries but at the center…”[14]

Christ at the center and substance was what Bonhoeffer was after in religionless Christianity. The problem with Bultmann’s attempt to demythologize, he wrote, was that on two fronts the Christian life had been tamed down into an empty system. “What does it mean to ‘interpret in a religious sense’? I think it means to speak on the one hand metaphysically, and on the other hand individualistically.”[15] Both of these tendencies, posited Bonhoeffer, leads the Christian life into an irrelevancy that fails to address the real issues that men and women are continually enduring. The focus upon the individual, along with the removal of Christianity from the realities of day to day life, were the real issues in Bonhoeffer’s mind, not the form of what had become a dead orthodoxy.

 

BONHOEFFER’S APPLICATION

There are two places in Bonhoeffer’s works where he directly lays out what it means to follow Jesus in a religionless Christianity. The first place is in his most personal work, Life Together. His final chapter in this short work deals with Confession and Communion. A life that is lived within a religious system is one that is lived apart from freedom. Describing a religious religion, Bonhoeffer wrote: “Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners.”[16]

The real Christian life, the religionless Christian life, is one that is lived without pretense. The identity of the follower of Jesus is not found in what he says or even what he does but in what Christ has done on his behalf. Because of the follower’s identity, he is free to admit his own struggles. “Anybody who has once been horrified by the dreadfulness of his own sin that nailed Jesus to the Cross will no longer be horrified by even the rankest sins of a brother.”[17]

Religionless Christianity means a new life that is free in the truest sense of the word. The community knows each other and loves each other in the face of their brokenness.  “In the presence of a psychiatrist I can only be a sick man; in the presence of a Christian brother I can dare to be a sinner.”[18] Christianity without pretense is what Bonhoeffer was after in this conversation.

The second place Bonhoeffer explicitly describes what this religionless Christianity would look like is in his letter to Eberhard Bethge’s son on the occasion of his baptism. In a sad admission, Bonhoeffer describes the type of world that young Dietrich Bethge was born into in 1944. “Our church, which has been fighting in these years only for its self-preservation, as though that were an end in itself, is incapable of taking the word of reconciliation and redemption to humankind and the world.” The fighting of Christians for one system over another had lead the church to a stagnant point, rendering the message of the gospel cracked and fading on the back shelves of orthodoxy.

Bonhoeffer described the future of the church. He saw a coming church that would again affect the world. He did not think that the darkness of religion could overcome the light of the gospel. He did not think that the enemy would have the last word in the German church. He wrote: “Our earlier words are therefore bound to lose their force and cease, and our being Christians today will be limited to two things: prayer and action for justice on behalf of people.”[19]

Bonhoeffer believed that the future of the church would rest on the prayer and justice-working of the people of God. Mere words, however orthodox, would never revive the dead spirit of the community. In fact, Bonhoeffer wrote of a day coming that would see a completely new language spoken by followers of Jesus. This would not be the innocuous, metaphysical, individualistic language of his day but rather something completely different.

“It will be a new language, perhaps quite non-religious, but liberating and redeeming- as was Jesus’ language; it will shock people and yet overcome them by its power; it will be a new language of a new righteousness and truth, proclaiming God’s peace with people and the coming of God’s kingdom.”[20]

Religionless Christianity means following Jesus as opposed to dead tradition. Words are important for what they convey and not for what they meant at one point or another in the course of human history. The real issue is deeper than form. The word of God is important because of the content it conveys, namely, the revelation of God. His revelation is important because of the ideas behind the words. The language gets us to God’s revelation- if it is translated it is every bit of God’s revelation. The translation may be from Hebrew to English or Greek to German or second century to twenty-first century.

 

BONHOEFFER’S LEGACY

The discussion of and the desire for religionless Christianity has continued on into this present day. The same concern Bonhoeffer held for the inward-focused church of his day is shared in sentiments such as these: “Often outsiders’ perception of Christianity reflect a church infatuated with itself. We discovered that many Christians have lost their heart for those outside the faith.”[21] Bonhoeffer was concerned that the church viewed the action of God only inside its own walls, which kept God on the fringes of everyday life. God, for Bonhoeffer, was all too seldom at the center. The same problem persists today.

Bonhoeffer was finished with the empty religion of his day that confused life for system and life for religion. He wrote: “Jesus calls people, not to a new religion, but to life.”[22] This problem is alive and well in the church today.

One pastor relates his conversion to Christ in a way that harkens back to Bonhoeffer’s desire to be free from the constraints that dead orthodoxy created. As he tells the story, he was watching a passion play and all of a sudden realized that he wanted what he was seeing. He wanted a new life but when he was escorted backstage to speak with the spiritual guides after the service, he became confused. He and a friend were presented with tracts that laid out the Christian life in terms of a few bullet points. Of this experience he wrote: “From the first page I knew something wasn’t right. I found it hard to accept that the wondrous story of God, the one I had just seen and been changed by, could be boiled down to bullet points and placed in a booklet. I was wondering what happened to the version I’d just witnessed.”[23] Bonhoeffer’s desire for religionless Christianity finds kinship in these concerns to not minimize the gospel into a few words of orthodoxy.

Many in the church today long for a Christianity like the one described by Bonhoeffer in his letter to Dietrich Bethge as well as in Life Together. A community of followers of Jesus Christ who are honest about their mistakes and continually desperate for His grace is still something that is pursued by Christians.

Donald Miller, author of New York Times bestseller, Blue Like Jazz, relates something he took part in with his community as an effort to follow Jesus in a religionless Christianity. His concern was: “For so much of my life I had been defending Christianity because I thought to admit that we had done anything wrong was to discredit the religious system as a whole, but it isn’t a religious system, it is people following Christ; and the important thing to do, the right thing to do, was to apologize for getting in the way of Jesus.”[24]

One year during a local festival, Miller’s community set up a booth at Reed College, a very liberal school in Oregon. On top of the booth they hung a sign that read “Free Confession”. Out of curiosity students came to their booth where there were promptly told something like “we apologize for the Crusades, we apologize for the televangelists, we apologize for neglecting the poor and the lonely…”[25] Religionless Christianity at work in today’s church is that embodiment of Bonhoeffer’s vision of prayer, action and new language of confession.

Could it be that there is a movement today for exactly the changes Bonhoeffer desired? Could religionless Christianity really mean the simple following of Jesus in one’s own generation? Could it be that the type of religionless society Lennon sung of some forty years ago was a looking forward to a day that followers of Jesus would live like Him? Bonhoeffer’s desire for the church to be the church- the body of the incarnate Christ- is the same desire that is found today as men and women strive to be obedient to the call of Jesus to follow Him.

---

[1] John Lennon. Imagine.

[2] Time Magazine.

[3] Devine, M. Bonhoeffer Speaks Today. Nashville: Broadman-Holman. 2005, p. 118.

[4] “Barmen Declaration (1943)” in Leith, J. ed. Creeds of the Churches. Louisville,

Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. 1982, p. 526.

[5] Bonhoeffer, D. The Cost of Discipleship. New York: Touchstone. 1995, p. 147.

[6] Ibid, p. 228.

[7] Ibid, p. 228.

[8] Kelly, G., Nelson, F. ed. A Testament to Freedom: Dietrich Bonhoeffer. San Francisco:

Harper-Collins. 1995, p. 501.

[9] Ibid, p. 501.

[10] Ibid, p. 502.

[11] Ibid, p. 502.

[12] See Phil Johnson’s website, linking Bonhoeffer and Barth with the likes of the Campbellites. http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/unorthdx.htm. 

[13] Kelly, Nelson, p. 502.

[14] Ibid, p. 503.

[15] Ibid, p. 504.

[16] Bonhoeffer, D. Life Together. San Francisco: Harper-Collins. 1954, p. 110.

[17] Ibid, p. 118.

[18] Ibid, p. 119.

[19] Kelly, Nelson, p. 505.

[20] Ibid, p. 505.

[21] Kinnaman, D. UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About

Christianity….And Why It Matters. Grand Rapids: Baker Books. 2007, p. 14.

[22] Kelly, Nelson, p. 509.

[23] Pagitt, D. A Christianity Worth Believing. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 2008, p. 22.

[24] Miller, D. Blue Like Jazz. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers. 2003, p. 118.

[25] Ibid, p. 118.

Whos, Grinches, Cindy Lou Who, and a Redemption Story

So I woke up this morning and I had an hour or so to kill so I decided to watch Dr. Seuss' classic "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". I wasn't looking for a blog topic (although an update was long overdue); and I wasn't looking for a picture of redemption- for crying out loud I was just going to watch the Grinch!

Let's think about the story of the Grinch, shall we? Here's a guy who is about as vile and contemptible as any dude can possibly get. His heart is full of unwashed socks and he's got termites in his soul! Or to put it another way, his brain is full of spiders and there's garlic in his soul!!! That's pretty bleak!

So this poor soul lives alone in isolation on the top of the mountain with just his co-dependent dog who's willing to go along with whatever shenanigans he comes up with just so he can have a friend. The Grinch is moved to hate those who seem to be selling out to the whole 'joy in community' business. He is so moved to hate that he decides to take all their stuff in attempts to end their good times!!! To put it in the words of a slammin' Tower of Power song, the Grinch thought that the Whos' happiness was like his, after the maxim of "you gotsta get what you want when you want when you need it". The Grinch thought they were as bound by material possessions as he was.

When the Grinch has his conversion on the top of Mount Crump and his heart grows 3 sizes, what is really happening is that the Grinch is being redeemed from his isolation into a real life of community. No more would life be defined by the stuff he had or didn't have but by life in community. He was redeemed from himself to live life with others.

I have been thinking all day about how this would translate into my situation. I need redemption. My circumstances do not at first appear to be like the Grinch's. I want everybody to have a good time. I want Christmas to come and I love being in community with others, especially one that is centered around the gospel. 

But I am in a situation that needs redeeming and I am learning that what I really need to continue to do is to let the Redeemer redeem this situation in my life however He sees fit. I am not the redeemer- I am not in charge of buying back any situation or person. God does an incredible job on just that note. 

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Are Gay Rights Really Civil Rights?

I've been following the whole Prop 8 backlash on the news and radio, and have been struck by the sheer illogicality and ignorance being propounded by the opponents of Prop 8.

Of several arguments that I have an issue with, one that popped out to me as self-evidently wrong is the hyperbolic argument linking "Gay Rights" to the overall Civil Rights Movement begun in the '60s.

It's simply an claim that makes no sense and does not correspond with history. At the heart of the Civil Rights Movement was a desire to see all men and women treated equally under the law and by fellow Americans.

While the 19th century was highlighted by the abolition of slavery, the 20th century by the de-segregation of schools, sports and public establishments and the widespread actualization of the equal treatment of each person by the government and (progressively) society as a whole.

Now, the 21st century has an early landmark with Barack Obama as our President-Elect, which is an important marker for civil rights both for those of us who didn't vote for him and for those of us who did.

As for the issue of Civil Rights as it pertains to "Gay Rights", my argument is that is simply does not. That is, the "right" of Gays to marry is both non-existent and non-essential to their equal treatment under the law, therefore striking an essential distinction between "Gay Rights" and Civil Rights.

If that doesn't clarify the my point, maybe these questions will:

Q. When was the last time you saw a gay person forced to the back of a city bus?

Q. When was the last time you saw police spraying down a group of gay protesters with a fire hose in a city square?

Q. When was the last time you saw a gay church building burnt down with little girls inside?

The question is about the definition of marriage, not basic human rights, as was the main point of contention in the Civil Rights movement. For the people of a State (such as California, Florida, Arizona, etc.) to define marriage as valid only between one man and one woman is "not in the same ballpark--not in the same league--not even in the same game" as Civil Rights or discrimination, to paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson grossly out of context.

Further, if the validity of gay marriage must be recognized by the state, then what about polygamy?

That is, if we can't be expected to "discriminate" against two people of the same gender who seek marriage, then how can we possibly discriminate against honest, hard-working, kind people who want to marry more than one person at a time?

I'm not saying that we should be scornful or hateful of Gays and Lesbians--rather, we need to take the opposite stance of standing for truth in a loving, gracious way.

After all, that's how Jesus came from the Father "full of grace and truth"--not that he sacrficed truth for grace, but that he was and is full of both.

These people have wrong-headed ideas about not just marriage but also life, God and truth, but so did we until the love of God was shed abroad in our hearts. Let's be about pointing all people to Jesus, who is our only hope.

I pray that He would break my heart more and more for the lost and that He'd be working the miracle of His grace all around us.

"And from his fullness we received, grace upon grace". (Jn. 1:16)

Mysterious Ways

It is interesting how God works. I don't mean interesting in the sense of a good science project or an engrossing good book but I mean interesting as in a multi-faceted, wild and relational being. I was just thinking about 

William Cowper's great hymn. One of the verses sings like this: Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace; Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face. 

This week I have seen a frowning providence and I so quickly judge the love of God by what I can see around me. My feeble sense clashes so often with his grace that calls me to trust but I have seen beautiful things all around me this week. 

I have seen that my community loves me. I have seen that my family loves me. Most of all, I have seen again that my God loves me. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace.

As complicated, confusing, befuddling and interesting life is, has been and will be, I know that God is right there in my time and space. The intimate love of my Father shows me what I need to see: Behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face. 

though life's trials may come and go

though I may never reasons know

yet I will trust in the One who's hand

will will hold me regardless of if I fall or stand

You Kidding Me? Wash My Feet?

Last night I was reading John 13 when the Ruler of all creation stoops down to wash his disciples' feet with the same hands that had formed the entirety of the known and unknown universe. Peter, one of my favorite characters in the bible, objects to  this treatment. Jesus, "You're not going to wash my feet- ever!" Peter understood what was going on. Jesus himself was serving his disciples in an almost despicable way. Yes I serve tables for a living and that can be a bit humiliating at times but washing somebody's feet?

I remember summer days playing whiffleball with Jay and Dusty and I have always hated wearing shoes so I would wear sandals sometimes. Boy, after a few hours in the dust and the 

dirt moving around I could hardly see my own skin. Imagine walking around for eight or ten 

hours in the desert with sandals on! These guys must have stunk to high heaven and the high king of heaven stoops down to wash them. 

So Peter is right to object in one sense. I was imagining my mentor Tal trying to set up our room at Tapestry. I take some sense of pride in helping him out and would be insulted in one sense to see him take the initiative and take care of some small and inglorious detail. I mean, I've been with him now for two years. Oh yeah, and he's not Jesus! He's just a man and we get angry at each other without cause just like anybody in any relationship does. 

Now imagine Peter as his Lord kneels down and pours out the water on his feet. Makes a bit of sense why he would object, doesn't it? Not only is his pride assaulted but his whole world is being played with by Jesus. No, Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. Jesus did not come to institute a new religion of service- he came to serve that we would follow him in this divine mystery of humility. 

This puts a new spin on John's opening words in this story. "Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end." What kind of love is the love of Jesus? The kind that loves regardless of how it makes him look- the kind that is there right to the very end.  

Fall Reflections

It's that time of the year when the colors change. Autumn in Birmingham is absolutely perfect. Skies are as blue as the ocean and the air is crisp and cool. It's this time of year that I tend to get reflective for one reason or another. 

This morning I was driving over to Peggy's apartment (where I am presently sitting) and I was engaged in the dangerous act of thinking. I thought back to two years ago when I was in my first autumn in Birmingham. I knew one person when I moved out here, I was starting a new job in a strange place, starting seminary and on medication for the somewhat random seizure I had earlier that year. I remember that feeling of disconnection. I remember that strange feeling like I was really a stranger in a strange land. 

A lot has changed in the past couple of years. I have settled into Birmingham and I actually have begun to like it. I am established at the restaurant as one of the youngest but most able servers. I have settled into seminary and feel comfortable with the work load. I love my church. Tapestry is not a perfect place but it's a place where we are learning to love each other. 

Speaking  of love, that's another part of my life that has changed a lot. Peggy is not perfect and neither am I but we are learning to love each other like the church loves Jesus and Jesus the church. We have such a great time together and the more we get to know each other the more we enjoy being with the other, which is, I'm pretty sure, a good thing.

I remember a couple of years ago thanksgiving day. I was working that night but in the morning I sat down at Starbucks and wrote down everything I was thankful for. There was so much God was doing in my life and as I kept reflecting, I kept seeing his movement throughout the days. What I was really thankful for was that Jesus, through his Spirit, was living in me and was shaping me. 

That's what I was thinking about on the way to Peggy's this morning. My circumstances have been difficult and now my circumstances are fantastic. What is constant is that God is still here. My Hope and my Rock has stayed solid. Not that I have hoped and stayed solid but that He has. He is. And He will.

Thoughts on God's Sovereignty in Salvation

Last night, I was a little discouraged, thinking about a friend who has been around the gospel for a long time and still resists Jesus on account of pride.

I've had several conversations with him throughout the past couple of years, as have other brothers, but his heart is continually hardened against submitting to Christ as his Savior and King.

Enter: "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God".

I just finished reading this little book earlier today, and in it, Packer has a great overarching message that no matter what we do, the most important thing we could ever do in evangelism is to first recognize that God is sovereign to save whom He will.

When we start to get our arms around that truth is when we finally realize that our charge as beleivers, as Packer summarizes in the final pages, is "not only to preach, but also to pray; not only to talk to men about God, but also to talk to God about men."

What a challenge to pray for the lost. How much of my evangelistic effort is devoted to prayer and how much of my prayer life is devoted to pleading for the lost?

Finally, here's a quote that stuck out to me about the particular friend who has had the gospel presented crystal clear over and over but still rises up in his heart of hearts and rejects Christ to choose rather to live in pride and arrogance toward the King of Heaven.

However clear and cogent we may be in presenting the gospel, we have no hope of convincing or converting anyone. Can you or I by our earnest talking break the power of Satan over a man's life? No. Can you or I give life to the spiritually dead? No. Can we hope to convince sinners of the truth of the gospel by patient explanation? No. Can we hope to move men to obey the gospel by any words of entreaty that we may utter? No. Our approach to evangelism is not realistic till we have faced this shattering fact (of our natural resistance toward the gospel), and let it make its proper impact on us ... Regarded as a human enterprise, evangelism is a hopeless task.

Judas, Who Betrayed Him, Was Standing With Them

As I was reading through John 18 this morning, I came across something in the text that stuck out to me like a sore thumb. This is what it says in verses 4-6:

Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he (literally, 'I AM'." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground."

What stuck out to me so much in this text is the fact that John leaves the reader hanging for a minute in the middle of a truly climatic moment in his book. The whole book of John, the whole Gospel, the whole Bible comes down to this moment--the betrayal, arrest, execution and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God.

And John is drawing this out by relating what Jesus says about his own Deity--he calls himself "I AM" and the people coming to arrest him fall to the ground because of the power of that claim.

But John interrupts his own flow, it seems, by drawing our attention back to Judas, whose last name seems to have evolved to "who betrayed him" (cf. 18:2, 12:4). It seems like the point John is getting at should focus on Jesus as the Son of God, but instead, the focus seems to be on Jesus, betrayed by his friends.

Why does he do this? Why is he stopping in mid-narration to remind us that Judas was there with them? After all, he's already said as much in verse three by telling us that Judas got the bad guys together and came along with them to arrest Jesus.

But the more I think about it, the more clearly I see his point--"He came to his own, and his own did not receive him" (John 1:11). He puts Jesus' statement and restatement of his awesome Deity right alongside Judas' betrayal and Peter's confusion and denial.

That's his point, though--the Son of God was betrayed and forsaken by his friends. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him. And that ties in perfectly to John's overall point, in 20:31, "but these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

When we hear Jesus claiming his Deity, we need to submit to it. It needs to get a hold of us and change us so that believing we may have life in his name.

...and he shows up...

These past couple of weeks have been fantastic and challenging in the life and times of Casey Hobbs. Last week I worked almost forty hours. I know, I know rrf faithful, that in and of itself is no great feat and the made for tv movie will just have to wait (I wonder who it would star...Brad Pitt, Burt Reynolds...). But that, along with my ridiculous load of school work which I am bravely running away from presently, has dramatically severed my relationship with that medicine for sissies that some refer to as "sleep". 

It has been a sweet semester school-wise. For all the rrf faithful who have followed the blog since its dramatic inception, you know that this is not something that I'm just saying...I'd refer you to the entirety of last semester's en

tries... It has been sweet because I've been reading Karl Barth (who's incidentally the man), Dietrich Bonhoeffer (who's my daddy) and Eugene Peterson (author of "The Message" translation- also the man) all on creation and it has been so refreshing to see the fact that all of our lives are to be lived together in the rhythm of the creation story. God moves on a rhythm and he has invited us in to that dance! Is that not incredible!

One other thing about all of this talk. Bonhoeffer's definition of the image of God is

 essentially that we are free in community for God. We need each other. We are created in community because our God exists in community. The Father loves the Son. The Son loves the Father. The Spirit Loves the Father, is loved by the Son and binds the dance together in a rhythm.

On top of all this reading, it has been incredible to spend time with another one of God's creations (For those who do not catch onto the intuitive hints, that would be my girlfriend Peggy). We are using this time to learn how to love each other the way we were made to- that is, by placing the other above ourselves and using our freedom for submission to one another and the triune God. 

So many times we miss out on what life is all about if we are going to stop short and make the "spiritual life" the only thing that is important. I leave you with a quote from Eugene Peterson when he talks about the Passover meal, the celebratory meal after God led the people 

of Israel out of Egypt.  Check this out:

"The triggering move that sets off this final and definitive burst of wonder, God's salvation act, unprecedented and unsurpassable, is a meal, an ordinary meal, a meat and potatoes meal, prepared and eaten by a family in their own kitchen...This is so characteristic of biblical spirituality: the ordinary and the miraculous on a single continuum. Anything and everything that we believe about God finds grounding in what we do in the course of any and every ordinary day. We are not permitted to segregate our salvation away from the details of getting around and making a living. 'Pass the broccoli' and 'Hear the word of God' carry equal weight in conversations among the saved. The sacraments are served in the kitchen and chancel alike."

Peterson, E. Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 2005, p. 174.

As far as the east is from the west

Healer - Live

Healer

I was at church Sunday when a new worship song was introduced. The story behind it is pretty remarkable. The author of the song attends Hillsong Church in Australia. About 2 years ago the author announced to the church he was suffering from terminal cancer and only had about 5 months to live. The church sang his song "Healer" and enjoyed an amazing time of worship. The author of the song was clearly sick; he was constantly vomitting and nauseaous from his illness. About 2 weeks ago it was announced that the author of the song had lied about his illness. He was not suffering from his cancer. He had lied to his church, his wife, and his family. The author repented to his church, but even more amazing was the REAL story behind the song. The author had been addicted to pornography for 16 years. He had pleaded and prayed to the Lord to be free, but had not been able to shake his addiction. The author stated this addiction caused such guilt and anguish that he literally became sick - his vommiting and nausea was real. He was so ashamed he couldnt tell his wife or his church that he wrote the song about Jesus enduring love - but under the guise of cancer. What an amazing story - of shame, guilt, and Jesus' love. Below are the lyrics. At first they didnt strike me as extremely deep. But given the circumstances behind it and upon further meditation - i think they express some of the sweetest truths about God and the gospel. Sin is so much worse than cancer and Christ bought that healing on the cross. To die from cancer is bad - to die from Sin is eternally worse. Here are the lyrics.

You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

I trust in you
I trust in you

I believe
You're my healer
I believe
You are all i need
I believe
You're my portion
I believe
You're more than enough for me
Jesus, you're all i need

Nothing is impossible for you
Nothing is impossible
Nothing is impossible for you
You hold my world in your hands

What's the World Got in Store?

One of the great songs on Wilco's second album, "Being There", is the eighth song, "What's the World Got in Store?". The lyrics are nothing special; nothing completely out of the ordinary, but for some reason this song and really this ridiculously open-ended question jumped into my mind when I started writing. 

Right now I should be reading on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Those closely affiliated with the conspiracy of RRF, otherwise known as both of our readers, may be shocked to read that I am avoiding reading about one of my favorite guys in the history of the church. 

Well, I'm tired, if you were wondering, and I needed to spend a minute processing before I get to the meat (no Upton Sinclaire reference intended). But seriously, I've had some interesting thoughts in the way of this question posed so eloquently by the one, the only, Jeff Tweedy (see previous post for his identity). 

What does the world have in store? Am I going to graduate from Beeson Divinity School only to ascend up the ladder at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse? What will come of Tapestry of Hope? And my relationship with Peggy, "What's the World Got in Store?" Simply, I don't know. 

Last night the boys and I discussed Martin Luther and prayer over a fine brew (or two), and Luther's main point was just that there needs to be an understanding in prayer that God is going to do whatever he wants (see the definition of God) and it is the task of prayer to have him align our own feeble wills with his all-wise will (see Jesus' prayer in the garden). My ideas don't even have to be sinful to be outside the will of God!

So much of my life so far has been a struggle to trust. Trust that God's ways are higher than my ways (see the book of Isaiah) that his plans are much better and sure than my plans (see the book of Revelation). 

What's the World Got In Store for me? For you? Who knows? God knows. He wants us to trust him. As hard as that is, that's what faith is; The conviction of things unseen. I'm just glad He knows where I'm going and He's got my best at heart (see Romans 8:28). Odds are He's got your best at heart too.

Who is this Son of Man?

Here's something that I wrote after I read through John 12 this morning. It's kinda wierd, but hey, that's what the RecklessRagingFury is all about, so bear with me...

Where is he from? How did he become educated? Who are his parents?

All of the side issues that have arisen throughout Jesus' ministry boil down to this one question, in John 12:34: "Who is this Son of Man?"

The question's immediate meaning has to do with Jesus' self-prophecy that He, like a grain of wheat, must die and that His death would result in "much fruit". In other words, by the lifting up of himself on the cross (His death), many would be drawn to Him (a.k.a. "much fruit). It's the second time in the space of two chapters that Jesus' death is foretold, following up Caiaphas' unwitting prophecy in 11:45-54.

But, back to the question, and back to its answers. In John 12:1-8, two answers are crafted into one stark contrast. Mary, celebrating and honoring her Lord--who she has just seen raise her brother from the dead--is pouring out a lavish, self-impoverishing amount of perfume onto Jesus' feet, wiping his feet with her hair.

Meanwhile, Judas trots out a religious argument to try and conceal the motives of his money-grubbing. It's true greed and self-righteousness contrasted with heart-worship and humility. Who is this Son of Man? Lord or Leverage?

Next, there is the fickle crowd and the hardened religious elite. The crowd sees once-dead Lazarus alive and believes (however temporarily) that Jesus is Messiah, while is the religious leadership sees once-dead Lazarus alive, the people believing, and sets out to un-do both. The crowd hails Him with Hosannas, the religious prioritize their politics and efface their own ineffectiveness. Who is this Son of Man? Coming King of Israel or Enemy of the State?

But there are two more groups and there is one more contrast waiting to be discovered. There are, on the one hand, those who believe because of the miracles and there are, on the other hand, those who believe because of the cross. This is the most subtle contrast of them all.

We all must love our life or hate our live; lose our life or keep our life. We all must serve Jesus and be honored by the Father, or serve self and be honored in the sight of men.

Who is this Son of Man? Well, whose glory do we love--that which comes from man or that which comes from God? Do we see the Son of Man in the true light or do we prefer to walk in darkness?

Who is the Son of Man?
He is the only truly worthy Object of worship--not a means to an end.
He is the only true King of God's People--not an inconvenience.
He is Eternal Son of God.
He is Jesus.

Casey's Album Review #1- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Something I've been thinking about doing over the past few months is pulling out an album review every now and again for the rrf crew. Now I know that the faithful readers of this blog have been pining for me to tell them about an album that is six years old but lets just see where this takes us, shall we faithful?

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is an album that is pregnant with depth, honesty and real creativity. Jeff Tweedy's lyrics from front to back on this album display the state of a man's heart as he cries out for something deeper- something that will last. 

The album starts out with the melancholy song "I am trying to break your heart", which showcases Tweedy's talent for singing real depth into somewhat obscure text. I am trying to break your heart chronicles the loss of relationship as his insecurities doom what could otherwise be a healthy relationship. This song, coupled with the album's final song, the sedated "Reservations", really plums the depths of a self-destructive personality which doubts the truth in even his closest relationships. Reservations begins with the question "How can I tell you it's me I don't like?" and refrains with "I've got reservations about so many things but not about you". 

The album has breaks in its seriousness with the light "Kamera" as well as "Heavy Metal Drummer" which both celebrate the quirkiness of life that allow us to look back on youth as a time of relative levity:"I miss the innocence I've known; playing Kiss covers beautiful and stoned". The album rocks on "I'm the man who loves you" with some characteristic musical breakdowns which, for me, set Wilco apart as a special and unique band which is not afraid to do something different musically. 

The middle songs on the album "Jesus, ect.", "Radio Cure", "Pot Kettle Black" and "Poor Places" have Tweedy literally singing his guts out about issues from his relationship with Jesus to a consideration of the difficulties of poverty. 

The song that sticks out to me over and over again as I listen to this album is "War on War". This is a song that needs to be heard to be understood, but here's the refrain "You have to lose; you have to lose; you have to learn how to die; if you wanna wanna be alive." For people who follow the God-Man who told us to take up our cross daily and follow him, these words should ring in our ear. We have to die if we want to be alive.

The gospel of Christ is just this. We have to die if we want to be alive- this is not a call that is completely foreign to those who are in touch with the reality of their own lives. The difference as followers of Christ is that we have the command to do just what we know needs to be done- to die. And we follow the One who died for us so that we might really be alive. 

This album, in addition to being the product of genius musically, is alive with the gospel if we just listen.

 

Cold French Press

Well, I done did it tonight. I made too much French press and now, when I most desire to taste that unmistakable true-to-the-bean taste, it's lukewarm and about the right temperature to spew out of my mouth.

We had Dad over to our apartment tonight, and I 'qued us up some Ribeyes to celebrate. A good time was had by all, and Janelle is chillin' on the phone talking to Mom about blogs, dogs and smog (alright, not smog, but it rhymed).

My real reason for writing is to just chime in a little bit on what God has been teaching me through the book Frankenstein, which I finished on the flight back from Birmingham last night.

Frankenstein created his monster for no apparent reason, no foresight and no actual motive. The creation and endowment of sacred life was given to the creature, who was left absolutely friendless in an angry, hating world.

What's so interesting and gripping about the book is the all-around isolation and abandonment that the monster undergoes because of his creator's lack of foresight and unwillingness to follow through on his creation.

It's the perfect picture of the Enlightenment's view on a Deist Clock-Maker God. It's an anti-Gospel.

So, I've been reflecting on how great our God is, that He created all that is for a great purpose--the outpouring and magnification of His Glory.

The minute I put down Frankenstein, I picked up my Bible and turned to Psalm 33, which contains these words: "For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord."

There's so much more of God's faithfulness and loving kindness toward His creation in this Psalm alone, but I just wanted to get to the essence of what the Bible is about. It's about Gospel. It's about God's love for His creation and His unwillingness to allow it to be abandoned because of sin--unwillingness that caused Him to abandon His Son to the Cross.

That's what I'm thinking tonight, even though some good coffee has gone un-sipped.

What a Great Thing to be Weak

Is God Better than Sex?

An Email from My Sister

Here is an email from my sister, I found it very encouraging, so I thought I would share our personal email exchange. Read my response to her by clicking here or read the next blog below. It would mean alot if you guys read both.

Hey Jare,

So I was just reading your blogs on reckless raging fury. I will be praying for you. I hope things are getting better and that you are getting your priorities straightened out. For one, I am praying that you will get plugged into a good church. It seems like you are always working on Sundays, and I haven't heard you talk much about church. I know you want to do well at your job, but overtime is not always required, and you need to let them know that church is a priority -- and then make it one.

One of the things I was praying about not too long ago was that God would show me that he is wooing me with His love on a daily basis -- that I don't need outside relationships to be complete. I asked God to reveal Himself to me in everyday circumstances and remind me of how He is even revealing Himself to me in nature (I was up at Tahoe at the time kayaking). I began to kayak back to Skyland not 10 minutes later and saw something bobbing in the water. Strange, so I paddled over for a closer look. I ended up finding 6 long-stem roses floating close together! No one was around -- not even boats. It didn't even dawn on me until I made it ashore what had just happened. I asked to be reminded about how much God loves me and instead He sent me a tangible demonstration -- 6 long-stem roses that I took home and put in a vase on my table. God is awesome. He'll reveal Himself to you if you ask.

Also, I went up to N. Tahoe last weekend. We went rafting down the Truckee river starting in Tahoe City. It was such a GORGEOUS day as we drove around the lake. Really, I cannot recall a day quite so beautiful. I couldn't stop commenting on how amazing the scenary was -- sunny blue sky, calm sparkling water, warm... I must have repeated myself like a broken record. Then I remembered a similar occasion in LB. I was watching the most beautiful sunset, and couldn't keep from voicing my awe. And then it hit me -- this is what heaven is going to be like. Sometimes I think that it would get old standing around the throne saying "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. Worthy is the Lamb" over and over. I mean, we're talking about eternity! Then I pondered the sunset and realized that when something is beautiful, our joy in it is made complete through our adoration of it (I believe you put this more eloquently in one of your lessons). How foolish of me to think that I could stand in awe of a sunset or picturesque lake, and not stand in awe and be in constant adoration of the Creator of it all! We have an infinite, amazing God, and I pray that you will be in constant awe of His power, majesty, and love for you.

"God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands of our total nature..."
-- A.W. Tozer

Love,
Steph