It's Bittersweet

“It’s bittersweet.”

That’s been my most common response. I say that anytime someone asks me how I feel about the fact that I’ll be leaving CCJ at the end of February and joining the staff of Troy Christian Church in March as their new preaching minister. I use that word because thus far I’ve found no better words to succinctly describe it.

Because first off, it is certainly bitter. I mean…I’ve been at CCJ for five and a half years. From day one Darrel took me under his wing to help me learn what it means to lead a congregation. He allowed me to see his successes and failures…all while giving me permission to make my own. The elders have shown me continual encouragement and support; backing me up while granting me the freedom and means to minister…and, when the situation called for it, offering appropriate correction. As the staff has grown so has my list of friends and confidants; people I can rely on and learn from. The staff members here are incredibly talented and I have a great deal of respect for them all.

And I haven’t even yet talked about the people; the congregation that makes up CCJ…those who are our friends that have become our family. The people of CCJ who have opened their homes and lives to Kara, Ian and I. Who have accepted us as we are and welcomed us into their stories.

Leaving all that behind...our friends, our church, this little town which has been our home…the thought of that is a very emotional one indeed. And in short…it’s bitter to think about.

But the prospect of this move is also very exciting. To be certain, this job is an outstanding opportunity for our family. For starters my primary responsibility will be to preach and teach; the very things I’ve felt as though God has designed me and truly called me to do. Add to that this chance I have of leading a congregation, taking the lessons I’ve learned in my time at CCJ and incorporating them into working with other followers of Christ…all those thoughts are very sweet.

But I want to be clear that I’m not excited about just A new job, I’m excited about THIS new job. In all my time in Jasper I had not once applied to another place. Only a couple times have I had churches inquire about interest and in each case I easily turned them down because I simply knew that this is where God wanted us to be. And yet throughout the process of applying, interviewing and getting to know the leaders, staff and people of Troy Christian Church, Kara and I have had a tremendous amount of excitement and peace regarding this move. For the months that this process has ensued we have felt that this step was the next step God was calling us to make.  Combine that with the opportunity to be much closer to both sides of our family and I can certainly say with anticipation that this move is sweet.

Yet in most instances I do not have time to elaborate; to praise God for the experiences of the past, the peace of the present and the excitement for the future. In most cases I do not have the time or the words to speak to his faithfulness. I don’t often have the chance to discuss how in both instances God was working there before us and He’ll be there after us. Most of the time I can’t talk about any of that.

So if you ask, pardon me in case I just respond, “It’s bittersweet.”

One of Satan's Schemes

Day 253

OT Reading: Proverbs 17-18

NT Reading: 2 Corinthians 2

In the New Testament portion of our reading today, the apostle Paul - writing to the Corinthians - makes this curious statement in 2 Corinthians 2:11, "In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes." (NIV)

The reason I find this curious is because of the situation Paul is referencing. Paul, in the verse prior, takes time to say that he has forgiven them...SO THAT Satan will not succeed by outwitting them. When I think of Satan's schemes I think of deceit and putting trying people in my way, and tempting me with lust or envy...but for some reason the concept mentioned here by Paul had just never come to mind. That Satan would work in such a way to try to keep you from forgiving someone else.

Perhaps this is a 'well duh' sort of thought to you. And, to me it is not earth-shattering. However it is a new twist or a different light shed on a common idea.

***By the way, if you'd like to look into this concept of spiritual warfare, at CCJ we just finished an elective by Craig Groeschel from Lifechurch.tv called Supernatural. I recommend you check it out!

Psalm 119

Day 234

OT Reading: Psalm 119:49-104

NT Reading: 1 Corinthians 4

As you may know, Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the entire Bible. But that is not the only reason it is unique. In fact, it is quite likely that you noticed odd subtitles appearing consistently as you have read along. Subtitles like: Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, etc. These are not misprints or names of people. What you are actually seeing are the letters in the Hebrew alphabet (spelled out in English).

You see, Psalm 119 is actually an acrostic in Hebrew. The psalmist takes a letter of the Hebrew alphabet, begins eight lines with that letter and then moves on to the next. In the English alphabet that would be like writing the first eight lines of a poem using the letter A, the next eight with B, then eight with C and so forth.

But even within that complex of a poetic structure, the entire Psalm is written around one idea: God's law. The psalmist speaks about how wisdom is derived from God's law. He tells others how God's law is a delight to him. And he promises others that only ruin will come if you try to deny. 176 verse...all about the law.

If I do say so...that's pretty impressive.

So as you read along, pay attention to how the psalmist treats God's law...especially insofar as it differs from your reaction to it.

Missing the Point

Day 233
OT Reading: Psalms 119:1-48
NT Reading: 1 Corinthians 3

There is quite a bit to say about Psalms 119...and rightly so since it is the longest chapter in all of Scripture. But I'm going to save that for one of the next two days (see...I'm setting myself up to try and get back to blogging regularly :-) ). But as for today, 1 Corinthians 3 provides a great opportunity for conversation, so let's take a look there.

Based on the two letters we have to the Corinthians (it appears Paul wrote at least one, perhaps two others which have since been lost to us) we can understand quite a bit about what was taking place there. However to sum things up...they gave us every example of what a church should not do.

Take today's reading for example. Based on what we see here (coupled with what we read back in chapter one), it seems there were a lot of divisions in the church. And in chapter three, the subject matter has to do with, "Who's your favorite preacher?"

Some people claimed they were followers of Paul. Others claimed to follow Peter. Some said they were followers of Apollos (another preacher we met back in Acts) and others proudly said, "I follow Christ." The people of Corinth began picking sides and apparently were claiming some were greater or more holy than others based on the guy they followed.

And as Paul responds he lays it out very simply. The Corinthians had missed the point.

Paul tells the Corinthians, "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe..." (1 Corinthians 3:5a, NIV) Paul tells the Corinthians that the point lies in that they have been saved by the grace of Jesus. None of their preferences redeemed them. None of these preferred leaders paid for their salvation...they were all servants of Christ. All that they had spent time arguing about was secondary.

At this point it would be easy for us to sit back and berate the Corinthians for their ridiculousness of putting personal preferences in front of the message of Christ. But as you look around, honestly, how often do you see this take place in the 21st century?

I recently was having a conversation with a man I'll call Dave. Dave recounted a discussion he had with another local church leader a couple years prior. At the time of the conversation Dave had recently begun coming to our church, having left the church in which this other leader served. In the midst of the discussion the church leader proclaimed, "Sure you can get to heaven either way. But would you rather take a Ugo or a Cadillac?" Like the Corinthians...I'm afraid this church leader was missing the point.

Because regardless of whether your preacher's name is Billy Graham or Jim Bob Smith, that's not the point. Regardless of whether your church has been around for 200 years or two days, that's not the point. Regardless of whether you were baptized in a church or a pond, prefer a pipe organ or an electric guitar, worship with dirges or hip-hop...none of that is the point.

The point, my friends, is Jesus.

If we don't get that...then we've totally missed the point.

Quick Hits

Day 232

OT Reading: Psalm 116-118

NT Reading: 1 Corinthians 2

In an effort to try to get my mind back into the habit of writing (in this case, blogging), allow me to offer a few "quick hits" about today's reading:

* Today you read the shortest chapter in the Bible, Psalm 117. In fact, I'm betting if you put your mind to it, you could memorize that entire chapter in no time (and do not give me any, "I'm not someone who can memorize" excuse).

* If you were reading the Bible front to back (as opposed to the OT/NT combination we're doing), Psalm 118 would mark the halfway point of your journey.

* Again, having not researched it at all, I really don't get Psalm 116:10, "I believed; therefore I said, 'I am greatly afflicted.'" I suppose if I took the time to do some research it may make sense. But just at first glance...huh?

* Tomorrow you will begin to read the longest chapter in the entire Bible, Psalm 119.

So there we go. Hopefully this can help get me back into the swing of things :-).

Paul was like me

Day 218

OT Reading: Psalms 78

NT Reading: Romans 7

Paul was just like me.

I forget that sometimes. Or perhaps a better way to say it; I lose sight of that sometimes. I mean Paul wrote many books of the New Testament. He went on three (or four depending on who's counting) incredible missionary journeys. Paul was integral in the expansion of the early church into Asia and Europe. And when I see his resume and all that he accomplished for God, it's easy to set him apart as a 'super Christian.'

And yet whenever I read, or come across Romans seven, I'm glad to see that Paul was no different than me. He knew the things he wanted to do, but often failed to do them. And the good things he did not want to do, he ended up doing over and over again. And as Paul offers this confessional element to his letter, I see its high point coming in verse 25 where Paul says, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" (NIV)

I can relate to that. I can look over my life and see my continued mess-ups. I can see how over and over again I have had to come to God and say, "I messed up...again." In other words, I'm exactly like Paul.

So if you haven't, you may want to underline, bookmark or even frame this passage. Because for me, it helps me be reminded that from Adam to Paul, from Abraham to Peter and everyone in between...Jesus was the only perfect one. The rest of us are all alike.

An incorrect assumption

Day 214
OT Reading: Psalms 68-69
NT Reading: Romans 3

Perhaps my 2011 resolution will be to blog more consistently about this whole 'through the Bible in a year' thing. Hmm. I'll have to consider that :-).

In the first portion of Romans, Paul lays out an intricate philosophy that can be summed in Romans 3:22-24, "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (NIV) To many of us, especially those of us who have been in church for awhile, this is a pretty common concept. Even to non-Christians the idea that 'nobody's perfect' is an understood concept. However to the first century audience that Paul was writing to, this was a new idea.

You see the Roman church was made up of two significant groups; the vast majority had been raised as Jews while the remainder had not. And for those who were of Jewish background, one common theme permeated their teachings, "we're God's favorite."

And it's easy to see how they'd come to this conclusion. I mean throughout their history God had been active and showing his mercy to them (see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Elijah, etc). And when you carry this all out to its logical conclusion, the Jewish people came to the point of believing they were the righteous ones because they had God's law. Since they knew what God wanted, and they lived by the law, they were on God's good side and everyone else was not.

And that's where Paul turns the tables on them. The Jews saw themselves as righteous. They had the law and believed that because of who they were they were thisclose with God. And Paul indicates otherwise.

Paul lays out that even with the right heritage, family of origin, knowledge of the complete law or circumcision, because of the fact that all have sinned righteousness can be found only in Jesus. In other words, Paul showed that while their heritage was nice, ulitmately it did them no good.

Oddly enough I see a number of people still living under the same assumption as the first-century Jews. Because of their parents' faith or because of their church membership or because of their upbringing, or perhaps because they were baptized once long ago in the past...people seem to believe that they're all set with God. As if any of those earthly ties or actions are the thing that saved them. But ultimately, while those things are nice, our righteousness comes by nothing we do...but instead by faith in Jesus.

Hopefully as we continue through Romans, you don't get so bogged down in the details that you fail to miss the big picture. That nothing we can do can ultimately save us. And that is exactly why Jesus came.

Merry Christmas