I found this great nugget of insight today in my reading... Moreism (as defined by Frederick Dale Brunner): asking Jesus for "more" proof than he has already given us of his goodness, as though he has not already done enough and is not continually doing enough to deserve this trust...We should not try to prove Jesus or require him to prove himself by some extracanonical wonder or by some special historical evidences, because a desire for "more" maybe just a mask for a person's "rude unbelief." THAT'S IT! This is a tremendous explanation of some Christians' tendency to feel that they need more proof from God (ie: internal positive feelings, supernatural occurrences to take place) in order to be completely satisfied with Jesus. Do you remember in geometry class when your teacher would take a giant compass to draw a perfect chalk circle on the black-board? I remember thinking, "Wow, that is cool, a perfect circle! I could never draw that freehand." Can a perfect circle be improved upon? Of course not. When Jesus died on the cross, the writer to Hebrews calls Jesus' work on the cross, both in chapter 2 & 4, "perfect." John writes in his first epistle, "God showed his love perfectly through the atoning sacrifice of cross." Jesus' cross is God's love perfectly displayed. What more do you need, what more do you want in order for you to trust him? Sadly, people want more all the time: "God, show me an answer to prayer, show me a healing, show me the money!" Some people even have gone so far that they are no longer even impressed with the cross: Why did God have to kill his Son to show his love, isn't that divine child abuse; couldn't he have shown his love someway else? Prideful narcissistic humans have a way of sticking their nose into business that they really have no right to enter: Armchair quarterbacks who are drinking a beer have no clue what it is like being rushed by a 300 pound professional nose-tackle, but they think they do. Political junkies really can not even imagine the stress the President lives with on a daily basis. A seminary student thinks he can run a 1,000 member church because he learned a few Greek words. And tiny humans think they can prove and argue for God better than he did through the cross. Brunner suprisingly says, "Apologetics can sometimes be an illegitimate discipline when we demand more proof than he has already given us." Being someone who loves apologetics, this has really gotten me thinking; and I think he is exactly right. We only enter the life of God through faith in the cross, not through "persuasive words, fine sounding arguments, or shows of power!" (1 Cor. 1:18-25) Apologetics really is meant for the believer rather than for the person who has still yet to believe. A final quote of Brunner says to this concerning the cross, "One more problem with "Moreism" is that in false and distorted forms of Christianity, people seek 'more' of the Lord by trying to give more of themselves. Instead of simple trust, they believe you need superior surrenders, yieldings, emptyings in order to have a more victorious life... No! Jesus has already done and given quite enough, and our human (divinely enabled!) trust is enough to enter this divinely provided enough!"
Do you ever feel like a second class Christian because you are not as "fired up" or "deeply sentimental" than other believers around you? Have you ever looked around and wondered, "Wow, they seem to sing with their whole heart and I only mumble the words Sunday morning. They really believe, I only have weak faith. They are always on cloud nine, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, whereas I am a deadbeat." Do you really think you have less of Christ because you have less of a smile? When I simply believe in Jesus, I receive him fully. There are no extra things I need to do to get an extra dose from him. His work on the cross was perfect, and faith alone perfectly receives everything he has done for me. We must stop comparing, competing, conjuring, and simply receive his perfect work by faith. Yesterday I was skeet shooting with the other pastors, and even though I am the least experienced shooter, I did realize something: When I pulled the trigger of the shotgun, my shot was just as deadly and powerful as it was in the experienced hands of Jared Doty. When I fired the shell, Derek still needed to wear ear plugs to muffle the sound of the gunpowder. And... I even knocked a few clay pigeons out of the sky like the dead-eye pastor Ken did. You see, the power did not come from my experience, my serious concentration, or even from the powerful muscle in my biceps to pull the trigger; all the deadly force was in the power of the gun alone. So it is with the cross!
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Normal people who walk the streets, when home alone, turn into freaks. famous poet Mister Christopher The city: Wheeling, West Virginia. The place: Marriott Hotel.
I was booked for a single room for the weekend because I was standing up in a wedding for a friend. Along with my room came free access to an all you can eat breakfast buffet: bacon, eggs, waffles, toast, fruit and did I mention bacon? I love bacon so I got to the dinning hall early; that gave me plenty of time to delight in three or four plates of free food. As I sat with a plate piled high of crispy bacon, across the room I noticed a Klingon eating bacon too. Yes, that's right, I said a Klingon. As I looked around there were all kinds of strange people eating breakfast: a Vulcan was chomping on a banana while reading the newspaper, an Andorian was sipping on a glass of orange juice and a Captain Jean-Luc Picard lookalike was making waffles! "Oh no," I said to myself, "this hotel is also being used for a Star Trek convention!" I felt like a captive on the USS Enterprise who was being served his last meal before being shipped to Rura-Penthe, the Klingon prisoner planet. Did you ever realize, humans beings are the strangest race of all? I once did a google search of "sub-cultures" in America. You wouldn't believe some of them: - gamers: A "gamer" is someone who plays video games or board games.The term nominally includes those who do not necessarily consider themselves to be gamers - "casual". To those who spend a notable part of their leisure time playing or learning about games - "hard-core". - groupies: These are people who follow a specific rock group or music genre and frequent clubs and concerts of their interest as much as they can (Goth, industrial, cybergoth, emo, blue-grass, rockabilly, etc...) - survivalists: They are individuals or groups who are actively preparing for emergencies, including possible disruptions in social or political order, on scales from local to international. (Includes Political Anarchists to religious end-time fanatics) - fandom: These people are characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the object(s) of their fandom and spend a significant portion of their time and energy involved with their interest, often as a part of a social network with particular practices. (Ie. Harry Potter fans, Dr. Who fans, Lord of the Rings fans, My Little Pony fans, DC/Marvel Comic fans, Twilight fans, Hunger Games fans, etc...) - miscellaneous: scrap bookers, instagrammers, bingo players, glamour campers, casino junkies, etc., etc., etc...... The list can go on and on and on -- you catch my drift? Most of the listed subcultures are occupied by the more cerebral and off-beat personalities. Often they are choosing their specific subculture as a protest against the sports obsessed culture all around them. To the average person they seem awfully weird; people living on the fringe. But tell me, how are they any different from sports fans? People who spend their life playing fantasy football, glued to Sports Center, or traveling with their kids to make it to the next wrestling match, track meet, & AYBT basketball tournament. Face it, they are just as strange as a Trekkie or Whovian, aren't they? "Well...sports fans at least live in reality; the sci-fi freaks are just zoned out in fantasy!" What do you think God would say to your argument? Do you think he has a picture of Knute Rockne & Lou Gehrig on the walls of his palace? Does he throw heavenly demerits at the guy dressed up like Luke Skywalker? I think he would say both offer people positive returns (friendship, leisure, enjoyment); but if not watched closely they both can take complete possession of your life. I believe there are three ways to tell when you are at the mercy of your sports team or super-hero: 1) IDENTITY: if the first way you see yourself is by your group, hobbie, interest or sports team, there is definitely something wrong. According to Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ." His person and purposes must be the way I see myself first and foremost. Not as a Cleveland Browns Backer or Bronie. 2) OBSESSION: what do you think about most the day? Do you start your day off with Espn, Phineas & Ferb, or a verse out of Psalms? What are most of your brain cells filled up with: useless trivia or words that can help sustain the weary? Read Philippians 4:8 and tell me how you do on that scale on any given day? 3) COMPASSION: do you disregard the needs of people around you because your obsession has taken over you? Oh, I know, another Tigers game is on right? You must watch it instead of helping raise money for the neighbor with cancer, or walking for Alpha's women center on Saturday afternoon? You might miss that really funny Sponge Bob episode where he ripped his pants instead of going to a Sunday Night service to pray for a local missionary. By the way, how many Major League Baseball games are there in one summer season; something like 200,000 give or take a few, right? Will one missed game kill you? Slavery isn't just being chained to a specific sin; but it also can come in the form of being mastered by you leisure time activity. How much of your money has been spent on something that only exists in the fantasy world of your dreams? How much time has ticked away while watching the 100th viewing of your favorite movie dressed in the costume of your favorite character? (think...Rocky Horror Picture Show) It's o.k. to be a fan or a freak, just don't let it become you! By the way, if you are an NBA fan, you could have turned off your TV for a whole year, from June to June, and you wouldn't of missed a thing: the Spurs are still playing the Heat in the finals. Go Spurs! (sorry Derek) |
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