Jeans On Wednesday

Movin' On Up

A couple of Sundays ago, our latest communicant's class of middle schoolers joined the church. Basically, these are students whose Sunday School has been taught by our pastor since September with the goal of teaching them the foundations of Christian belief, history, and philosophy. And this recent Sunday was the culmination of all that—they became members of the church.

For me, the joy was two-fold. First, it was the first incoming members I got to "receive" as an elder. I met with the students beforehand, had a chance to hear from them about what they had learned, and to offer what little advice I had as they moved forward in their faith.

Then during the service, all the elders came forward and laid our hands on their shoulders as the whole congregation prayed for them. It reminded me of our children's baptisms, in a way. Hearing the whole church pledge to support and care for them was incredibly moving.

Secondly, it was particularly special to me because about half of the students I know personally from when Laura and I were the youth leaders. We had just taught some of these kids last year in Jr. High Sunday School! To see them now, professing their faith and desire to be a part of their local church, was very heartwarming. These weren't just some kids, these were Rachel and Carolyn and Savannah and Brett.

People sometimes wonder, "Why join a church? What's the difference between that and just going regularly?" I guess, to some degree, it's the same idea behind why you get "legally" married or why you get publically baptized, although I freely admit the biblical command for those is much clearer.

But the idea is one of public commitment, a bonding display of unity. Of pledging yourself to something bigger than you, and saying to the other people in the church, "Hey, we're in this together."

Is it required to worship and serve and grow? Nope. But is it meaningful? I think it really is.

Further reading:
A Biblical Understanding of Membership by 9Marks
Why People Join A Church by Joyful Heart Renewal Minsitries
Why Join A Church? by Frank Turk @ Pyromaniacs

Confession: It's Not Just For Catholics

There are many sins in my life, and I expect to keep sinning until the day I die. But not so long ago, God helped me shake free of one that haunted me for several weeks. It was one of those enjoyable, seemingly innocuous sins that you hate to let go of because you think it only affects you... but then something happens, and you realize that it's time to act before things get out of hand.

I'm not sure where in James's "sequence" I was at, but I knew I didn't want it to get to the "giving birth to death" part. :-)

What was intriguing to me is that I found my experience captured quite vividly by the writings of David, oh those thousands of years ago. And they say the Bible isn't timely and relevant...

Psalm 32:1-5 (NIV)
Blessed is he
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
    whose sin the LORD does not count against him
    and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept silent,
    my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
For day and night
    your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was sapped
    as in the heat of summer.
    Selah
Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
    I said, "I will confess
    my transgressions to the LORD"
    and you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.
    Selah

My guilt hung over me like a cloud. I forced happiness though my haze, especially to my wife, who knows when something is wrong often before I do. I felt like I was living a double life at times. Knowing that what I was doing was probably wrong, but not wanting to step up and do the right thing to change course.

Satan kept whispering the whole time in my ear, "You don't need to talk to anybody. You can handle it yourself. Just stay quiet and fix it on your own. You don't need to rock the boat."

Nothing could have been further from the truth. That's one of the slippery parts of sin. It wants us to separate ourselves from those that can help us most. It tries to make us think we're on our own.

Confession was hard. Painful. Pride-killing. Repentance was even harder. Facing those I'd hurt and affected, admitting my guilt, and seeking reconciliation—none of it fun. The whole time, from when I first sought counsel until I finished the last bit of "setting things straight" with all parties, was tough. Even though everyone involved was understanding, supportive, and kind, I wanted to stop every step of the way.

But an amazing thing shortly happened—relief. I felt like a massive weight had been lifted off my chest. I had a clean conscience. I could look at my wife and friends with confidence again. I had nothing to hide. And their love flowed over me like a wave.

I know I'll sin again. Many times over on a wide variety of topics. But as confused as I was in the midst of my sin, the clarity from being released from it is even greater. In fact, I would say I had no idea how much it was hanging over me until I "acknowledged my sin" and "did not cover up my iniquity". I hope I don't forget that sense of lightness of being.

Afterwards, I was chatting with a friend, sharing how I felt stupid for even starting down the path to begin with. He offered me some very encouraging words, taken from his reflections on a book on discipleship he was reading, Choose the Life by Bill Hull.

Early on, [Hull] talks about "faith" as defined by modern evangelical Christianity, which would be that faith is action based on confident belief—his emphasis being that what we believe about God is all that is needed for saving, biblical faith.

Then he contrasts that by his thesis that we have wrongly defined faith. Faith is not as defined above, but needs to be defined as Jesus defines it, and that is: faith is following the leadership of Jesus, or simply following Jesus.

If there is sin in your life you need to be free from, I pray you find the strength to "simply" follow Jesus, seeking confession and repentance, knowing He waits with open, loving arms. And be encouraged that by choosing to do so, you show deep, abiding faith in the one who offers us all his overwhelming forgiveness.

May God's grace and mercy fill your life today.

Further reading:
Sermon on Psalm 32:1–5 by Rev. Adrian Dieleman
How Not To Be A Mule by John Piper
Daily Encounter: Confession As A Game by Dick Innes
Nothing "Safe" About Secret Sin by John MacArthur

Servant Or Son

Monday found us having lunch with some friends at Bucca di Beppo. If you’ve never eaten there, imagine an Italian restaurant colliding with an Italian grandmother’s attic full of photos and memorabilia. There isn't a bare spot on the walls. Or ceilings.

While waiting for the food, I took Ali for a walk around the place to burn off some energy. We stumbled upon a high-backed wooden chair with red velvet cushions. It looked kind of royal (in a Middle Ages sorta way), so I sat down and said something about being the king of all the land of Bucca.

Ali takes a step back, does the best curtsy a 5 year old (who has never been taught how to curtsy) can muster, and says, “Would you like me to be your servant?”

Without really thinking, I replied, “How about you be my daughter princess?”

And as those words were dying in the air, I thought, “Wow. Isn’t that the story of what God does for us?”

The only thing we deserve is death (Rom. 6:23). Sin has tainted us through and through, and the just reward for that, frankly, is hell. We don’t deserve heaven because we certainly haven’t earned the perfection required to stand in God’s presence. We all deserve to stay slaves to our sin and suffer the consequences.

Yet God steps in and says, “How about you be my heir? Prince or princess is a lot better than servant or slave.” Or as Paul wrote it, “[When redeemed by Christ] you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” (Gal. 4:7)

And this theme isn’t a one shot deal. When writing to new believers in Rome, Paul talks about it again, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Rom. 8:17)

When instructing Titus, he writes, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4-7)

I look at my sin—daily, intentional, wicked sin—and I want to run away. I want to hide from God, like Adam and Eve did. I think I’m not worthy to be anything but a poorly treated servant.

But God says, “Come. Be my child.”

Further reading: "Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel" by John Piper

Sowing: An Addendum

While searching for a gospel presentations for teens, I came across an incredible story from seven years ago about a kid who wanted to share the gospel with his entire school, never did, but planted the seed that would fully bloom after he left.

I now believe that God controls Google.  :-)

The Impossible Dream by Andy Stanley