Sunday, February 19, 2012

A Truly Humble Person

Do you know anyone who is truly humble? My mother was a humble lady. I remember that when you spent time with her you felt that you were the most important person in the world. It just wasn't me that felt that way, each of my seven brothers and sisters can tell you the same thing.
Paul was a humble man. You can read about that in 1 Corinthians 4.
I have a friend who is truly a humble person. He never builds himself up nor does he put himself down. When you spend time with him it is never about him it is about you. Sometimes when you are with a person you come away and say that you have been in the presence of a truly great person. Why you spend time with a truly humble person, you are that great person.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Money, Possesions, and Eternity.

The last post I ranted (I think that maybe what I should call it rather than venting) about Andy Stanley's illustration. Today I was reading in the other book that the teacher is using, Randy Alcorn's Money, Possessions and Eternity. Here is what he said:
'Teaching the "seed faith" and "hundredfold return" principles, one pastor triumphantly told of a woman in his church whose still-new car was about to be repossessed. As an act of faith, claiming God's "promise' of a hundredfold return, she put $20 in the offering. Sure enough, the next day she received $2,000 in the mail and was able to catch up on her payments, keep her car, and gain some extra spending money.
'That's a nice testimoney, but it raises some questions. Did it occur to the woman (or the pastor) that perhaps she should not have gone into debt in the first plasce, that her beautiful car might be a luxury God didn't approve of, or that God might want her to give up her car and invest the $2,000 in his kingdom (and not expect a check in the mail for $200,000 to compensate for her doing so)? It apparently didn't occur to them that may unrighteous people also received checks in the mail that day, while many righteous people didn't'

Thanks Randy Alcorn. That is what I was trying to say.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Fields of Gold


Last Sunday our teacher shared with us from Andy Stanley's book, Fields of Gold. He used an illustration that made me somewhat uneasy. Let me explain.

In the book Andy Stanley talks about a couple who found themselves in debt; two car loans, student loans, mortgage and $20K credit card debt and they also discovered that the wife was pregnant and her job was being phased out. They were told to consider tithing and they didn't know if they could but decided to any way. They found out that the wife got a settlement from her company for $35K and that the husband got promoted to a much higher paying position that included the use of a company car. The implication was, though not directly, that it was the result of the couple making a decision to tithe.

So what is my problem? Don't I consider tithing important? Isn't God capable of doing this? The answer to the last two questions is a definite "yes". So then what is the answer to my problem? Or should I even have a problem?

The teacher is using four different books for his lesson and I cannot see Randy Alcorn, John Piper or David Platt using this illustration the way Andy Stanley used it. When we use an illustration it should not be open to the wrong interpretation and I think that this illustration flies in the face of David Platt's radically changed lifestyle approach, Randy Alcorn's eternity in view approach or John Piper's wasting your life approach.

Now to be fair to Andy Stanley and the couple they did look at involment in missions and they did put God first in the finances (or so they said).

There is no indication in the illustration that their lifestyle changed. What got them in the mess in the first place seemed to continue on in their lives. Unless we believe that it was their lack of giving to the Lord the problem. I don't think it was but rather it was what David Platt calls "living the American dream".

So let me run a couple of things by you. What would have happened if they did not decide to tithe? They may still of recieved the settlement and been promoted. Is it fair to say that it was the result of their tithing? I am not sure but I have to ask. What would have happened if they had to sell one of their cars, sell their house and move into something smaller because they didn't receive the settlement or the promotion? How would that have affected their decision? We are called to be faithful stewards with what God has given us even when the results of our decision goes against us.

But my biggest problem is that this illustration may lead us to the wrong conclusion. We may think that if we tithe God is obligated to reward us. That is not true. Too many times our teacher has reminded us that we do not give to get but we do get to give.

Those are just my thoughts and I would be delighted to hear from you whether you agree or disagree with me. If I am off base let me know. Remember I am not critising Stanley's book or even his illustration except that it is left open to what I consider the wrong intrepretation.

Just venting.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

What can I learn from them?

When you listen to some teachers or preachers it would appear that if we didn't believe exactly what they believe then we are a heretic. Well that may be true but it is also a very dangerous position. As a Christian I hope I believe all the right things but I am not so naive as to think that all my theology is right. As a Calvinist I can learn from an Armenian; as a pre-mill I can learn from the a-mills. We have to be careful that we base our beliefs on the Word of God and not upon man's teaching. We can learn a lot from other teachers but we must also keep in mind that they are not God and we must not treat them like God.
Paul reminds the Corinthians that different leaders have different responsibilities. That does not make the one who plants greater than the one who waters or even the one who harvests. Until we realize that all these teachers are a gift from God we will not be mature in our Christian faith.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Baby likes Ham


When are second son was a few months old my wife and I were in charge of the church picnic so one of the older ladies offered to care for our infant son. He was being fussy so she gave him a piece of ham to suck on. He was fine for her but that night he had a terrible stomach ache and we paid for her compromise.
Babies need milk. Their digestive system is not ready for solid food but as they get older we expect that they will graduate from a milk only diet to be able to eat solid food. We don't give a baby ham but if they never eat solid food them we are concerned.
That is the same with Christians. Christians need the milk of the Word so that they will grow but we expect them to grow into a diet of solid food.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Living the Gospel Centred Life

The following is fromm Bob Hayton:

Many Christians live with a truncated view of the gospel. We see the gospel as the “door,” the way in, the entrance point into God’s kingdom. But the gospel is so much more! It is not just the door, but the path we are to walk every day of the Christian life. It is not just the means of our salvation, but the means of our transformation. It is not simply deliverance from sin’s penalty, but release from sin’s power. The gospel is what makes us right with God (justification) and it is also what frees us to delight in God (sanctification). The gospel changes everything!