God at War

I started a new book last week called God at War: The Bible & Spiritual Conflict by Gregory Boyd.  I've had a hard time putting it down ever since because it has shed some light on some big questions that believers in Christ and unbelievers alike ask, like "Where does evil come from?" and "How do do terrible atrocities fit into the idea of everything being a part of the plan of a perfect and loving God?"  If you're reading this post you've probably seen some of my other posts on spiritual warfare and know that I take the bible at it's word when it talks about satan being the "god of this world" and that I think that many in the church in "the West" are not seeing with spiritual eyes and recognizing demonic activity in regards to the evils in this world, whether they be habitual sin, sickness, mental illness, violence, political powers, etc.  We don't recognize or do much about the work of the demonic in the world around us, even though we have been charged by our Lord to battle against the forces of darkness in this world.  We explain it all away with natural reasoning or blame it solely on man's sin.  Even worse though, the common teaching given for centuries now is that all bad things that happen are to be seen as coming from our Father's hand. Greg Boyd calls this overall perspective "the blueprint theory."  

There are a lot of things we are led to believe to be "biblical" just because it's the dominating idea in the theological circles we run in.  This blueprint view of explaining evil in light of a good God is one of those things many of us have accepted as true because of it's dominance. Basically, as far as I can summarize, this theory says that everything good and evil that happens in the world is all part of the sovereign will of God and was all planned out/foreknown from the beginning of creation.  All evil that happens to us happens as He allows- and allows for a good specific reasons.  This idea is largely attributed to the thinking of Saint Augustine and the classical-philosophical line of reasoning.  However, this concept, as Boyd tries to argue throughout the book, is not founded in the bible, but rather in the "Hellenistic view of divine omnipotence and providence (viz. as meticulous control)."  I'm not going to get into the specifics that Greg lays out in several chapters, but basically he contrasts this view of God's meticulous control with the view that God put angels in control of many elements of this world, and Satan and many others rebelled because they are like man in regards to free will (unlike some views which say angels are all puppet agents of God's will and have no free will).  Those forces that are in rebellion against God are where we ought to be directing our blame for evil. One of the major points that this book drives home is that neither Jesus nor the early church asked why God let all sorts of evils happen, and certainly didn't say it was from Him.  They had this warfare worldview that saw everything bad that happened in light of the "prince of the power of the air" and his legions of demons that are trying to thwart God's will and cause man to suffer, or worse, to continue rebelling against God.

The "yeah but what about that scripture that says..." example that kept coming to my mind in conflict with Greg's argument was in John 9:1-3 where Jesus heals the blind man.  Prior to healing him the disciples ask who sinned that caused this man to be blind, and Jesus responds (in the NIV translation), "Neither this man nor his parents sinned...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."  Greg notes that a lot of "blueprint" thinkers hinge on this New testament verse as justifying the idea that God's will lies behind even apparently evil events in this world to either punish, build character or glorify Himself.  He first points out that even if this man's blindness was from God's hand to glorify himself, that it would be an exception, not an absolute principle based on the fact that most of Jesus' other miracles were explicitly rebuking works of the devil (not God).  How often we try to lock God's workings in a box and limit Him to a formula for how He operates based on a few examples from scripture.  A further point is that the greek more accurately translated simply says "But let the works of God be manifested" which gives us a picture of Jesus telling us that this is yet another opportunity for Him to release this man from suffering "under the power of the devil" as Peter says in Acts 10:37-38.

This change to a warfare perspective can help a lot of people that have a bad view of God (understandably) because of the idea that evil things come from God's will.  Two, singing songs that paint the warfare perspective will help us to see it in the world around us (and thus help us have the right view of what's going on instead of thinking God is doing evil things) and also help to engage us in the battle that we've been called to as the children of light.  Some song suggestions are "In Christ Alone," "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," "Sing to the King," "This is My Father's World," I don't like the music but the words to "For This Purpose" by Graham Kendrick are very fitting for this theme, at Christmas time "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," and I've loved "Shout Unto God" by Hillsong for a while as more of a battle cry, repetitive song.  

If you'd like to hear a little bit more about why Gregory Boyd decided to write this book, click here,  it is a pretty crazy story.  I also found a link that has a debate between him and John Piper on some theological issues that is very interesting, especially since I just finished a Piper book and really appreciate his work.

Surely some of you have some thoughts on this, please share...  

Get Truth Rather Than Sentiment Stuck in People's Heads

I recently listened to an mp3 of lectures I have from Stuart Townend and Keith Getty, writers of "In Christ Alone." I wanted to share a quote from Stuart that seems to correspond well with the things I usually try to express here on the blog in regards to the content of our worship music.

"We want people to be going out singing the songs...and we want them to be going out singing the songs that are full of truth rather than songs that are just nice sentiments...It will change them, it will sustain them through their lives, it will sustain you through your life."

We know how powerful a vehicle music can be to touch people's hearts and minds. So it's important that the songs people internalize (get stuck in their head) are full of truth that can impact their lives for the Kingdom. Sentiments are fleeting, but truth, as Stuart mentions, is something that God's people can actually stand on in all circumstances. Stuart goes on to talk about how many lies people in the church often believe about themselves, God, the world, etc. and how the truth that they hear in worship can truly liberate them from the lies that chain them up and keep them from living in the Kingdom of God. This speaks to the spiritual warfare stuff I've mentioned before as well, and how worship in spirit and truth can undo the lies of the demonic that try to hinder the church (the people) from carrying out God's mission here on the earth.

Check out any of these lectures (you'll have to sort through to find the ones from Keith and Stuart specifically) if you get a chance, I was blessed by what these guys had to share and am thankful there's people out there that take writing worship songs so seriously and recognize our need to get away from the trend of songs that are vague theologically and are me-centered and aim mostly at an emotional, sentimental response from the participant rather than imparting a life-long truth that the worshiper can cling to and live by.

Jesus Sees the Devil's Attacks on Churches - Do We?

This may sound like a strange question to ponder, but if you were the devil and had all the forces of darkness at your disposal, where would you assign your demons to do their works of evil?  Governments, entertainment, media, warlords and other organized criminals, education systems, the list goes on with so many people and places that you could influence with wickedness and have a major impact on the world.  

In Setting Your Church Free, author Charles Mylander, thinking about the strategies of Satan, says, "you better believe I would especially assign some (demons) to churches, missions and Christian organizations!  If I could slow down, immobilize distract or derail the churches of Jesus Christ, everything else would be a piece of cake.  If people remain blind to the gospel, they remain in the kingdom of darkness.  The only human institutions that pray for God's light to dispel the darkness and then proclaim the gospel are churches and Christian organizations."  

One side note here.  did you notice that line where he says churches pray for God's light to dispel the darkness.  Do we?  I'm convinced that whether it is a written prayer, or impromptu by a leader or someone else in the congregation, we should be praying prayers for God's light to penetrate the darkness in our communities and the world whenever we gather to worship.  I'm taking that as a challenge to try to include that whenever I lead worship.

Back to the topic.  Churches are prime targets for attacks from the enemy, Jesus knew that, and pointed it out in the first chapters of the book of Revelation.  The words of Jesus and the Apostles warn us that the attacks can come through the effects of personal or corporate sins of the congregation (Rev. 2:14-16), a strong demonic presence in a physical location (Rev. 2:13), or even through people who pretend to be followers of Christ that are trying to create division or spread heresies(2 Cor. 11:13-14).  Too often we see circumstances and don't look beyond them like Jesus did.  Gossip, sins, unresolved disagreements, false teachings, financial problems, worship that is not in spirit and truth and sometimes even a building can be used to derail us or distract us from who the church is supposed to be and what we are supposed to be doing.  Jesus saw that there were well strategized plans from the kingdom of darkness to try and ruin His churches and keep them from being effectively bringing the Kingdom God to this world.  We've all seen or heard examples of churches that have fallen under the attack of satan and given him the victory by not being a good representative of Jesus before the eyes of the world.  

We know that God will bring His plans to pass, that Jesus had the victory over death and all powers of evil, but that doesn't mean that we can just pretend that we're not under spiritual attack and just try to deal with problems by earthly means, or even worse, simply stand by and let Satan have his way till Jesus returns because we're not willing to fight the fight we've been called to (Eph. 6:11-13).  Sometimes I even wonder if it is that a church or leadership is too proud to admit that they are under attack and that is why they don't deal with things on the spiritual warfare level.  Prayer according to the authority of Christ is the greatest defense, and its something that we can all can be intentional about on behalf of our local church body as well as others that you know of that are under attack.  Jesus doesn't want His church to be victims, so let's ask Him to help us see things the way He does and use the methods and tools He's given us to live as victorious churches according to His purposes.

Pray for Our Sisters in Iran

According to Farsi Christian News Network (FCNN).
Thirty year-old Marzieh and 27-year-old Maryam are being held at Evin Prison, which is notorious for treating women badly. "Both women are allowed just a one minute telephone call everyday to their immediate families. Both are unwell and in need of urgent medical attention," FCNN reported. During their last call on March 28, Mazieh said that she was suffering from an infection and high fever. She said, "I am dying."
Marzieh and Maryam's apartment was searched and their belongings were confiscated. "Their only crime is that they are committed Christians who follow the teachings of Jesus," FCNN added. “They are being unfairly labeled as 'anti government activists' because of the hostility of the government towards practicing Christians."
The women have reportedly been interrogated numerous times and were held in three different police detention centers before being sent to Evin Prison. FCNN reported an exorbitant bail amount of US$ 400,000 has been set even though Marzieh and Maryam's families have been told on numerous occasions that a judge is not available to discuss the case.
Marzieh and Maryam's arrest is the latest incident highlighting increased government intimidation of Christians in Iran. Believers are subjected to surveillance, arrests, imprisonment, and sometimes torture.

The Words We Use in Worship - Adore

Pastor Darin's message this Sunday was on the discipline of silence.  He commented on how noisy he found his mind to be in trying to practice this discipline, and began to recognize how our time not just with God, but with our families and friends really suffers when the noise in our heads keeps us from being truly present in those moments.  I came across a blog post today from Carmen D'Arcy that seemed to connect with Sunday's message.  Carmen wasn't writing about the discipline of silence, but in thinking about the word "adore," she came to similar conclusions about our need as followers of Christ to intentionally seek to be lay down the noise in our lives and be present with God.    

"I started thinking about how adoration, at its core, pre-supposes all of my affection. All of my attention. All of my passion.  I love this definition of adoration: “to be fully fixed upon without distraction”. I ran across that phrase years ago. I can’t remember where it came from anymore, but the bottom line is this -- it’s impossible to adore someone or something authentically if we can easily be distracted from it." 

Read the rest of the post here

We use that word "adore" quite often in the context of our worship.  It is a necessary challenge for us to really take the words we sing to heart, think about what they really mean and what they look like in action.  Be challenged by Carmen's question, do you really "adore" Jesus?  If you are easily distracted from Him, especially in a time that is set apart for "adoring" Him,  what would help you to be able to stay present and be more fully fixed on Him?  Maybe working on that silence discipline could help.  I've decided to take the silence discipline on, and today was rough, but especially now that I've considered how it could aid in not being distracted from the One worthy of my adoration, I'm willing to work at it for a while.  Anyone else recognize the need to quiet down the multi-tasking noise? 

Free Gao

Christian human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng, disappeared February 4, and was last seen being taken away by a dozen police officers. Gao Zhisheng has been repeatedly kidnapped, arrested, imprisoned and tortured by Chinese authorities, because he has defended the persecuted and has been an unyielding voice for justice in the Chinese courts.

This man has been an awesome example of Christ's compassion in his country, defending people who have been victims of China's disgusting abuse and torture.  His work is so well-known you can find him on Wikipedia here!  

Would you go to freegau.com today and sign the petition and possibly consider doing some of the other things that might get released?  Most importantly would you pray for him to have strength to endure and to be an amazing witness for Christ, even unto death, and pray for his family that they would find peace and comfort in the Lord in this time of fear and uncertainty.