Well, Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and, like any other holiday, it gives Christians the chance to spoil it. Because of this, I wanted to write a blog post as somewhat of a preemptive strike against the sorry stream of Facebook posts and comments that Monday will likely bring with the goal of seeing another holiday redeemed for Jesus. It seems that there are commonly two types of people that don't like Valentine's Day: the self-righteous scrooge and the sour single. Let's look at them in order. The self-righteous scrooge says things like, "Valentine's day is just a made-up holiday by greeting card companies to make more money. I don't need some stupid holiday to love my wife. I love her every day of the year." Now, granted, it's good to show love to your spouse or significant other every day, but I don't think that's the sentiment behind it. It seems to be a little bit of hidden pride here as if this person is above everyone else in his or her capacity to love well. The sour single laments his or her singleness by saying things like, "Oh boy. Singles Awareness Day. And I'm single. Still." This attitude reeks of selfish, self-focued pity. Both types seem to elevate the self as supreme. The scrooge fancies herself as more enlightened than most for her recognizing the silliness of this "special" day. The single bitterly turns inward as he lives with an unfulfilled desire for companionship. Both of these attitudes need redemption from Jesus and, rather than looking inward (whether to pride or pity), need to look to Him for repentance. Redemption for the self-righteous scrooge is found in celebration. Valentine's Day is not the only day one should show love to his or her significant other, but it provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate one's spouse and their shared love. God is the source of joy (Psalm 16:11), Jesus came so our joy would be full (John 15:11) and, as Christians, we are commanded to rejoice (Philippians 4:4). Why not use this day as a chance to celebrate? Richard Foster in his book Celebration of Discipline recommends we "take advantage of the festivals of our culture and really celebrate" (p. 200) to practice the corporate discipline (he calls it!) of celebration. Even if our culture promotes the day as an over-sexualized and grossly commercial affair, redeem the Valentine's Day with God-glorifying festivities of feasting together, cherishing one another, giving thanks for each other and honoring one another! Redemption for the sour single is found in sacrificial love. Marriage is a beautiful thing. Dating is great when it honors God and is intended for marriage. If you are not married or in a relationship with someone, redeem Valentine's Day by serving someone who is. Jesus came to serve (Mark 10:45). Lovingly serving someone well displays His character as well as gets us outside of ourselves. Sacrifice displays our freedom from needing anything other than Jesus. Here are three suggestions: - Offer free babysitting to couples with kids. Taking initiative in this helps take some of the stress off of couples trying to find someone to watch kids.
- Get other people with no plans that night and pray for the marriages of people you know--specifically, by name, even. You could even ask if people have specific prayer requests.
- Use money that could be spent on a coping mechanism for pitying one's self to buy a gift for a couple you know: a bottle of wine, a gift card, valet service, etc.
So, this Valentine's day, let us live in such a way that demonstrates the supreme worth and value of Jesus as we conduct ourselves as redeemed people who seek to redeem. Happy Valentine's day!
Along with the negative attitude towards growing old in our society, it seems like there is also a strong pressure to preserve youth. The ideal life, it seems, it to play until you die and try to look as young as possible for as long as possible.
It's fairly common to hear someone mention their 'nth 25th birthday' or something equivalent, as if that age is the ideal age to be preserved. While some want to preserve both the lifestyle associated with the age as well as the appearance, most would like to at least preserve the appearance.
For example: yesterday, I posted the following on Twitter and FB:
"It seems like there is an aversion to aging in our society. Anyone excited about getting grey hair, having wisdom, and leaving a legacy?"
The general consensus seemed to be, "Well, wisdom is good and leaving a legacy is good, but I don't want grey hair." Interesting. I definitely don't think there's necessarily something wrong with not wanting grey hair, but I think that there are possible bad motivations. Consider the following:
Gray hair is a crown of glory;
it is gained in a righteous life.
(Proverbs 16:31 ESV)
and,
The glory of young men is their strength,
but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.
(Proverbs 20:29 ESV)
I think that "going grey" is actually a good thing. Why not? It could be because of a societal pressure to conform to a certain standard of physical attractiveness. But, is the standard our society puts forth really the standard we should be using to gauge what is good, right and true?
A first- edition Spider Man comic is worth a lot of money to some. In 2002, it was cited as worth $20,000. To keep the value high, it is important to keep the comic in "mint" condition - wear and tear will drive the value down. Yet, even with a lot of effort to preserve it, it will still age. One day, it will still look old.
The Bible of a saint, however, will definitely look old. And, it will probably look much older than it actually is. Yet, its age is a sign of its life - being constantly read, always at hand in a bag or out on a table, stained from spills, cracked from being held open, scuffed from being transported, and so on. Its life, in addition, also gives life. The unassuming appearance of the cover contrasts with the ancient and rich truths inside, the worn surface with the fresh and refreshing insight of its content.
You can keep your comic book bags, your preservation methods and your display cases. I'll take life. I'll take use. And I hope for the splendor that God gives as I strive to live a righteous life of wear and tear for His glory.
1. Claim there's "nothing new" in this book
2. Insult the author's intelligence
3. Make a sweeping generalization about the book's content
4. "Refute" the content of the book in a sentence or two
5. Insult the intelligence of people who like the book
6. Opine about the obvious superiority of a position that you hold
7. Include latent clues that deftly showcase your Herculean intellect
8. Optional: mention that the absurdity of the book's content made you laugh
9. Double-check your review for the requisite tone of smug intellectual arrogance
10. Post review
Sandals Church is on the cutting edge of 1668. "It is one thing for a man to know in general that there is a law of sin; another thing for a man to have an experience of the power of this law of sin in himself. It is preached to all; all men that own the Scripture acknowledge it, as being declared therein. But they are but few that know it in themselves; we should else have more complaints of it than we have, and more contendings against it, and less fruits of it in the world." (emphasis added) "Many men live in the dark to themselves all their days; whatever else they know, they know not themselves. They know their outward estates, how rich they are, and the condition of their bodies as to health and sickness they are careful to examine; but as to their inward man, and their principles as to God and eternity, they know little or nothing of themselves. Indeed, few labour to grow wise in this matter, few study themselves as they ought, are acquainted with the evils of their own hearts as they ought; on which yet the whole course of their obedience, and consequently of their eternal condition, doth depend. This, therefore, is our wisdom; and it is a needful wisdom, if we have any design to please God, or to avoid that which is a provocation to the eyes of his glory." "We may well bewail the woful sloth and negligence that is in the most, even in professors. They live and walk as though they intended to go to heaven hood-winked and asleep, as though they had no enemy to deal withal." "Awake, therefore, all of you in whose hearts is any thing of the ways of God! Your enemy is not only upon you, as on Samson of old, but is in you also...awake to the consideration of this cursed enemy, which is the spring of all these and innumerable other evils, as also of the ruin of all the souls that perish in this world" John Owen, The Nature and Power of Indwelling Sin from The Works of John Owen, Vol 6. Temptation and Sin, pp. 159, 162
"Nobody is too good for the meanest service. One who worries about the loss of time that such petty, outward acts of helpfulness entail is usually taking the importance of of his own career too solemnly." Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together, 99. Men, time to apologize to your wives. Sorry, honey.
"Does Christ come merely to improve our existence in Adam or to end it, sweeping us into his new creation? Is Christianity all about spiritual and moral makeovers or about death and resurrection—radical judgment and radical grace? Is the Word of God a resource for what we have already decided we want and need, or is it God’s living and active criticism of our religion, morality, and pious experience? In other words, is the Bible God’s story, centering on Christ’s redeeming work, that rewrites our stories, or is it something we use to make our stories a little more exciting and interesting?" -Michael Horton, Christless Christianity, 24
At 2:00 today, I have the privilege to teach Sandal's first membership class. The class will cover the mission of vision of Sandals as well as our basic beliefs. I'd love it if you joined me in prayer: * Pray that people would commit to join Sandals in its mission and vision * Pray that people would grow in the individual knowledge of God and devotion to Him * Pray that God would speak through me * Pray that God would guard me from pride * Pray that God would be made much of and pleased with His people as we walk forward as Sandals church Thanks!
This is tasty but makes for a difficult game of "test your fine motorskills on trying to get the pepperoni out of your keyboard with a nail." At least the game has a delicious ending.
You know, now that I think about it, either Christina Aguilera uses "heart" and "body" as misnomers for "mind" and "heart" or she is operating with a theory of bifurcated desire.
Little E's word for banana is currently "ma" as in the first two letters of "matter." This is distinct from his word for "mom" which is "ma" as in the first two letters of "mall." It's quite different. In the car I decided I would educate my offspring on the proper pronounciation of the word since he is able to verbalize all of its composite parts (ba - his word for "ball" and na - his word for "snack"). Our exchange was as follows: "E, say 'ball.'"
"ba"
"Good, baby! Now say 'na.'"
Little E makes the baby sign for snack. Hmmm, didn't anticipate that one... I decided to change it up a bit: "E, say "nah.'"
"nah"
"Good job! Now say 'ba.'"
"ba"
Wanting to prompt him, I say "na" - no dice. Start over. "E, say 'ba.'"
"ba"
Me again: "na" - E: "ba," me: "na" - and now it's a game.
E: "ba" me "na" E: "ba"
Me, trying to break the cycle: "BA-NA-NA"
E: "ma"
Oh well. At least he's consistent.
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