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Quit Hanging Around the Corpse

We have a fascination with death, being dead, being undead, etc. I am not even going to attempt to categorize any of it because I pay very little attention to it and all I will get are comments about how I mis-categorized something.

My point is this: we need to quit hanging around the corpse. Once something is dead, leave it. Well, more specifically, once your life in Christ is activated, quit hanging around the corpse of what once was.

This is a place where I am intrigued by the word chosen by the Common English Bible:

6 This is what we know: the person that we used to be was crucified with him in order to get rid of the corpse that had been controlled by sin. That way we wouldn’t be slaves to sin anymore, 7 because a person who has died has been freed from sin’s power. (Rom. 6:6-7, CEB)

Romans 6-8 is one of the most powerful passages in Scripture. The emphasis from death to life is so deeply powerful. Leave the old life. Enter into the powerful life of the Spirit. Don’t let the corpse hang around!

You are born into new life. Get rid of the stinking corpse that was your old life. You may think it’s novel to have it hanging around, but it’s stinking up the place! Move on in Christ.

So Jesus, Brad Pitt, and George Clooney are Walking Down the Street

A funny little scenario that Steve Guttenberg gave in an interview talked about how Clooney and Pitt are so popular:

“If we walked Jesus, Brad Pitt and George Clooney down Fifth Avenue, I think Clooney and Pitt would get a lot more attention”

To which I would reply: “Of course they would. Jesus was barely recognized in HIS day at times!” 

I’m glad it’s not about a popularity contest. 

Don’t Move Until You Get It

Several years ago there was a movie called Searching for Bobby Fischer, about a chess whiz kid named Josh Waitzkin. In one scene, the chess tutor gives Josh a scenario and tells him, “Don’t move until you see it.”

He was telling Josh, “There is victory for you in this situation. It’s several steps away, but it’s there. See it in your mind before you make your next move.”

We need that wisdom in our own lives. Don’t just run charging into a situation. Wait. Listen. Observe. See what is ahead. Then, move.

That is Jesus’ instruction to the disciples before he ascends to heaven.

49 Look, I’m sending to you what my Father promised, but you are to stay in the city until you have been furnished with heavenly power. (Luke 24:49, CEB)

We just aren’t good at waiting. We need to see what the Father has for us, but so often we plunge ahead. We are more like Saul in the Old Testament. Who has time to wait for the old prophet to show up? Why wait for what God has that is best when we know what is good.

We allow the good to rob us of the best.

We need to move out into uncharted waters. We need to get to a place where we can’t do it on our own.

“Will God ever ask you to do something you are not able to do? The answer is yes–all the time! It must be that way, for God’s glory and kingdom. If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory. He wants to reveal Himself to a watching world.”
― Henry T. Blackaby, Experiencing the Spirit: The Power of Pentecost Every Day

We need the power of the Spirit in our lives. But don’t think that’s something you can control. If you can control it, it’s not God.

Wait for power. Wait for the presence of God. Don’t move until you get it.

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It’s Pentecost

Next Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. It’s about the only time the Church is somewhat focused on the member of the Trinity we really don’t understand. So… we don’t talk about the Spirit much. If you’re Pentecostal, you are defined by the events of Acts 2, but still may not have a grasp on just WHO the Holy Spirit is.

If you’re not Pentecostal, here is a scary thought: If you are Trinitarian… you have to deal with the Spirit anyway!

We are too often defined by what we’re NOT rather than what we ARE.

We need the power of the Spirit in our lives. He does not need to be ignored.

Prayer of Augustine

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too, may be holy.

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I love but what is holy.

Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.

Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy.

Amen.

Joel 2 (CEB)

27 You will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God—no other exists;
never again will my people be put to shame.
28 After that I will pour out my spirit upon everyone;
your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
29 In those days, I will also pour out my
spirit on the male and female slaves.

Get Away from Sloppy Worship

6 A son honors a father,
and a servant honors his master.
But if I’m a father, where is my honor?
Or if I’m a master, where is my respect?
says the Lord of heavenly forces
to you priests who despise my name.
So you say, “How have we despised your name?”
7 By approaching my altar with polluted food.
But you say, “How have we polluted it[b]?”
When you say, “The table of the Lord can be despised.”
8 If you bring a blind animal to sacrifice, isn’t that evil?
If you bring a lame or sick one, isn’t that evil?
Would you bring it to your governor?
Would he be pleased with it or accept you?
says the Lord of heavenly forces. (Malachi 1:6-8, CEB)

The issue with Israel in Malachi was half-hearted worship. It was probably “no-hearted” worship. It was going through the motions.

When I was growing up, my particular church group loved to make fun of more liturgical churches because they repeated “vain words.” There was no heart in their worship.

It’s easy to point the finger the other way. What we need to realize is that is very easy for ANY of us to come with sloppy worship. We come with “polluted food” by our attitudes. We come with “polluted food” by our lack of preparation as we meet the HOLY ONE.

The very things we would not want someone doing if they came to OUR house… we do going into the house of God. We would be appalled with people coming to see us in our home, and then not talking to us. They would talk to everyone else in the house… all the other guests… but not us.

Imagine someone coming to your house (who you invited) and they arrived with fresh flowers… for another guest. Not you. Or, they arrived with wilted flowers.

“Oh, I bought these off a street vendor the other day and had them on my desk. I needed to get rid of them.”

Come to worship. Worship the One who has sought you out. Worship the One who has loved you with an everlasting love. Worship him. Not with your leftovers. Not with last week’s effort. Love him fully. Give him the present of your presence.

You Need a Good Scrubbing

There are times when kids go out to play and you call them in for supper. You look quickly at them as say, “Go wash up.” Mainly, we mean, “Wash your hands.” (Which also means we will check them again when they get to the table and make them REALLY wash their hands.)

Then there are times when the kids are out playing and somehow found the mud pit in the middle of the desert. Your area could be in a drought and somehow those kids came back caked in mud. “Washing up” isn’t the phrase you use at that point.

Reading through the Old Testament prophets is like that second scenario. When I get through these tough words, I realize what I need in the presence of God is not some dainty little “touch up.” I need a good scrubbing. I thought I was doing okay and along comes some wild eyed guy from the Old Testament to wreck my perception!

Malachi is that way. Israel thought they might have a few “quirks” or “issues.” Malachi was there to say, “No… it’s called sin, and you are full of it!”

The way out wasn’t some nice little prayer. The way out was a good scrubbing.

Look, I am sending my messenger who will clear the path before me;
suddenly the Lord whom you are seeking will come to his temple.
The messenger of the covenant in whom you take delight is coming,
says the Lord of heavenly forces.
2 Who can endure the day of his coming?
Who can withstand his appearance?
He is like the refiner’s fire or the cleaner’s soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver.
He will purify the Levites
and refine them like gold and silver.
They will belong to the Lord,
presenting a righteous offering. (Mal. 3:1-3, CEB)

We need to realize there is a thing that is still called sin. God dealing with us is sometimes going to go beyond “brushing ourselves off” like we picked up a little dust from the windy day. We need the get scrubbed down. We need a fire lit to draw out the gross junk that has accumulated.

We too often think we’re doing “okay” when “okay” isn’t God’s best for us. He delivers the extraordinary to our lives… and we just settle in like we’re going for another walk in the park. We still insist on doing things our way, offending God, and then wonder why we just can’t seem to get going in our spiritual lives.

Maybe we don’t need to just “wash up.” Maybe we need a good scrubbing!

The Mistake of NOT Believing in Human Depravity

David Brooks is one of my favorite commentators today. He is concise, insightful, and almost always right. His column for May 18 is once again on target. I found it interesting that as he was discussing governmental systems I was comparing that with church structures, especially denominational or other organizational structures.

But his main point on the American drift from how our Founders saw the world is a great observation. We keep wanting to do away with the thought that people have a possibility for evil. We just don’t want to admit it, and it is to our peril.

This is one of the reasons why Europe and the United States are facing debt crises and political dysfunction at the same time. People used to believe that human depravity was self-evident and democratic self-government was fragile. Now they think depravity is nonexistent and they take self-government for granted.

I remember being in seminary and the professor was about the begin his lectures on the devil. I thought of that as I think about Brooks’ quote. Before the lecture I was listening to a student behind me drone on about how there is no evil or devil in the world. Evil is just the absence of good. Blah, blah, blah.

The professor walks in and begins his lecture with this: “Some say there is a devil. Some say the devil doesn’t exist. Either way, he doesn’t care.”

Americans ignoring depravity is one thing. The CHURCH ignoring depravity is far more dangerous.