There are No Losers Anymore

A recent study in England shows a majority of children less concerned about competition, winning or losing, than just playing for fun, the cultural effect of the 21st century “we’re-all-winners” philosophy! As good as it sounds, how does a life without loss prepare children for the adult world of disappointment and rejection? And what happened to the notion of building character through defeat?

Likewise, our spiritual children must have a solid doctrinal understanding of adversity, or they will lose hope and abandon their faith when hard times come. Jesus said, “whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it… Everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property for my sake will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children, wife or property—along with persecution. And in the world to come, eternal life” (Mark 8:35; 10:29-30). In other words, in God’s economy, the biggest winners are the losers!

How do Muslims View the End Times?

Did you know many Muslims believe that the end times are here? According to Mideast expert and theologian J. Richardson, many jihadists have joined the conflict in Syria because they see it as an apocalyptic war. Just before the Muslim messiah, Mahdi, comes to earth, there will arise a Sufyani, an enemy of Mahdi, who will battle for control of the earth. Such are the implications of the Syrian conflict. And because of this end-time perspective, jihadists are willing to fight to the death.

In addition to being just plain fascinating, the Islamic end-time doctrine evokes thoughts of Christian themes: Armageddon, antichrist, martyrdom, and John's description of the tribulation saints who did not love their life even when faced with death (Rev. 12:11). When Jesus told his first followers to pick up their cross, they knew exactly what he meant: they had seen thousands of their countrymen crucified by the Romans. But unlike Islam, Christians don't die for a cause, but for Christ's glory! The start of Passion Week is a good time to consider the question: Have I given up everything to follow Christ (Matt. 10:28)?

April Fools for Christ

I googled April Fools' Day, wondering if I could find some hidden insights. Wikipedia says its practices include, among other things, sending someone on a ‘fool's errand,’ that is, trying to get people to believe ridiculous things. You can imagine this description caught my attention. According to Paul, “the preaching of the cross is foolishness [ridiculous to believe in] to those who are perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18). 

Paul was not afraid of appearing foolish. When he said, “We are fools for Christ, but you are wise” (1 Cor. 4:10), he was scorning the Corinthians for priding themselves on their astute and eloquent preaching. (They were too smart to go on a ‘fool's errand!’)

I think April 1 should serve as a reminder to all cross-bearing believers that we are called to be “Fools for Christ.” And what better maxim for the day than Jim Elliot’s truly astute and eloquent declaration: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Stubborn Camels and Sewing Needles

After telling a rich young man  he would have to give up all his possessions to inherit eternal life, Jesus told his disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Camels are so stubborn even if you could manage to fit one through the eye of a needle, he wouldn't go!) Astonished at his statement, they asked, “Who then can be saved?” And Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Mat 19:23-27).

Jesus deliberately exaggerated to make the point that no one can save themselves. The rich young man thought he could, but departed in disappointment, unwilling to do what Jesus asked. I wonder how many people in our churches today think they can be true believers without giving up their treasures, “gaining the whole world, but losing their souls” (Mat 16:26). But the good news is that He's able to change the heart of a rich man even if he's as stubborn as a camel! The next time you face something impossible, think of stubborn camels sand sewing needles; and remember: nothing is impossible for God.

Hearing Loss is on the Rise

I recently read an article about how to avoid hearing loss, and thought immediately of Jesus' words: “Those who have ears to hear, let them hear” (Matt. 11:15). He was not speaking to an audience of ‘earless’ people, nor who had suffered severe hearing losses. Jesus meant that their ears needed to be attuned to spiritual ‘sounds.’

In this world where we encounter a continuous cacophony of noise so loud “you can't hear yourself think,” our ears can suffer damage (hearing losses are on the rise especially among teens). Significantly, the article on avoiding hearing loss suggested “turning down the volume.” So it is in the spiritual realm: many believers are suffering hearing loss because they do not have a quiet time. If you daily give the ears of your spirit quiet and rest, they are more likely to hear what the Spirit says” (Rev. 3:22).

“Enter into your secret chamber and shut out the tumults of the world. In silence and in stillness a devout soul profits and learns the hidden things of the Scriptures.” Thomas a Kempis, 1450

Chips to make you Thin

No, not a potato chip. Swiss scientists are developing a computer chip implant that will check for fat in the blood and release a hormone that satisfies hunger. It occurs to me many people with insatiable hunger would admit they need an appetite suppressant less than they need a better way of dealing with unmet emotional needs for which food becomes a comforting substitute. A computer chip can’t cure that.

God created us with an eating-motivator called appetite, without which we might not eat enough to stay alive. Likewise, He has given us spiritual appetites, without which we will die. “I made you hungry and then I gave you bread that wouldn’t satisfy you so that you would know me as the Bread of Life” (Deut. 8:16). Scientists may think their discovery is 'all that and a bag of chips.' But it is only the life-changing, deeply satisfying words “that come from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4) that will satiate that lonely ‘self’ searching the fridge late at night for fruitless fare!

What will be Hurricane Sandy’s Affect?

Have you noticed that the media are no longer referring to Hurricane Sandy as “Frankenstorm?” That would trivialize a storm that portends to be the worst to hit the Mid-Atlantic in 200 years—and there is nothing cute or funny about Sandy!

Sandy’s winds, in excess of 80 mph, are expected to cause power outages for millions of Americans. Government offices in the Nation’s capitol are closed, as are schools. Wall Street is closed, along with NYC and New Jersey public transportation, including the cancelation of more than 9,000 flights. Adding bad to worse, a cold front moving in from the West is threatening to drop up to 2 feet of snow. The economic losses are expected to be $20 billion. Occurring just days before the presidential elections, no one is even trying to guess what affect it will have on voting turnout.  

As I read this morning’s news articles about Sandy’s affects on all of the above, it occurred to me that no one is speaking of the spiritual affect. Will it cause people to pray? Will it cause people to reevaluate what is important in life? Could Sandy be a reminder that our fate is not determined by the outcome of a national election, but by our omniscient and omnipotent God?

Coffee, Doughnuts, and Worship

More churches these days are offering worshippers coffee and doughnuts as they enter the service. At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, I remember when no one would have thought of eating and drinking in a church service. The ‘sanctuary’ was considered a ‘set-apart’ place/time to focus on God.   “There is an appointed time for everything” (Ecc. 3:1), and Sunday morning was a time for feeding the soul.

Before you accuse me of 20th century fundamental legalism, please hear my heart on this. I’m not talking about meaningless rules; nor would I want to restrict anyone’s freedom. No, I am speaking of the loss of something: the loss of un-distractedness, of undivided attention in our corporate gatherings.

While I understand our churches' objectives to be less culturally disparate, I fail to see how coffee and doughnuts add value to the worship experience. Paul was not discouraging Sunday morning coffee and doughnuts when he spoke these words, but listen to them as though he were. “I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:35). Of course the real issue is not coffee and doughnuts, but how each of us is undivided in devotion to the Lord—and not just on Sunday morning!

Every Disciple of Jesus Should Gain ‘Weight’

Most of my adult life, I’ve had to work at maintaining my proper weight. Speaking genetically, I have ‘fat genes’ (not ‘jeans’) which cannot be indulged! But as long as I eat nutritionally I am OK.

The Word of God is rich, nourishing food for the spirit and soul—promoting a spiritual vitality. Even as a person who fails to eat right can be physically weak and ill, so those who neglect to consume the Word will be spiritually underdeveloped and anemic, consequently, failing to reflect the innate glory of the new creation.

In both Hebrew and Greek the word “glory” means to be ‘heavy’ or ‘weighty.’ If someone has a lot of authority or celebrity, we say idiomatically that person “carries a lot of weight.” They have a big reputation; they are held in high esteem, honor, and perhaps majesty (kings are more ‘glorious’, more weighty than paupers). Spiritually speaking, the more we feast on the Word, the greater we manifest this innate glory. (Don't worry about eating too much; it's impossible to gain too much of this 'weight'.)

Jesus prayed He would be glorified in His disciples. How do we glorify Jesus? We bear His image (which is in us). As others see Him, they see His glory: He is glorified. Paul says we grow in this as we “behold Jesus,” and are increasingly “transformed into [His] image from glory to glory.” (1 Cor. 3:18) The question before us is this: are you feeding your ‘fat spiritual genes?’ Are you gaining in this ‘weightiness’? Can you say: I count all things loss that I may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8)?

How Did Jesus Define Success?

He who loses his life for my sake will find it…[and] I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father of mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake…who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time…and in the age to come, eternal life. Matthew 10:39; Mark 10:29-30

How I long to hear Joel Osteen speak of the blessing of giving up all that you have in order to receive the abundance that Jesus offers. How I pray he will talk about how he loves Jesus so much he is dying to have more of Jesus’ life. His teaching on God’s temporal and material blessings is not wrong. But his emphasis is. Jesus was not opposed to Christians having material things. He was opposed to temporal and material things “having” (controlling) Christians! There is a built-in danger to gaining much in this life and thinking it is a measure of our spiritual success. If it is so, we would have to conclude that the millions of Chinese Christians who live under great persecution and have suffered great losses (home, family, possessions, even death) are people of little faith and thus, are unable to receive the blessings of God.

The emphasis of our teaching should never be to consider our gains, but on how much we are willing to give up of material and temporal things in order to eliminate all competition in our hearts for Jesus. Watchman Nee once said, “In spiritual matters, our success is not measured in terms of gains, but in losses.” How much have you lost for Jesus’ sake? Are you dying to gain abundant life?