I find a few things slightly tragic and ironic at the same time this morning. It is frustrating to me that I have been too busy with my leadership responsibilities over the past few days to write about Matt. 5:8 and the promise of Jesus to the pure in heart. I find it ironic that I was in tears in Allen Hood’s office yesterday over the tension of being given more leadership while simultaneously yearning for more time to pray, fast, and go deep in the word. I find it tragic that my leadership responsibilities make it very difficult for me to do an extended fast that is not a corporate one. I find myself in a great tension clinging to hope that desire and longing “counts” before God as I struggle to navigate laying hold of a true life of prayer and not simply the reputation of having one. I want to have what Jesus invited me to have - a pure heart. Pure desires. A longing for the only thing that matters - intimacy with God.
Jesus made, to the “great multitudes” that had gathered to Him on that incredible day on the front end of His earthly ministry, an audacious promise. Really, the promise Jesus made to those who labored to cultivate a pure heart cannot truly be appreciated by a modern audience. The Jewish audience that had come from the southern boundaries of modern Turkey to the borders of Egypt were understandably stunned at His teaching. I, personally, find it shocking that the multitudes were “astonished”, as Matthew says (Matt. 7:28-29), at His teaching and His authority. Why am I shocked? Because Matthew tells us that they gathered to Him in the first place because of His fame that had spread throughout the region related to Hid unprecedented displays of power to heal and deliver the sick and tormented.
He healed “all kinds” of sickness and “all kinds” of disease among the people. (Matt. 4:23) Yet they saved their “astonishment” for His teaching. Imagine laying hands on someone and dramatically healing them, only to have them be astonished more by your sermon afterwards. That, in my opinion, is authority in teaching. It is also the point of revival and signs and wonders - not that we would pursue them as an end unto themselves, but that they would serve as a gateway to bring people into stunning truth and propel them into a rich and vibrant relationship with the living God. In many ways, the whole of Jesus sermon and ministry was about this incredible promise found in the beatitudes.
What was so stunning about the promise?
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February 28th, 2007
I am actually FOR global warming 100%. It’s on my prayer list, to be honest.
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Pet. 3:10-13)
David
February 27th, 2007
Well, there are many reasons. I’m going to present to you the most compelling one here.
I watched this 83 times already. You have to watch it all the way through. By the time he’s finished, I’m ready to run through a wall.
David
February 27th, 2007
In honor of Brent’s tireless campaign to expose the truth about global warming, I’m posting this little tidbit from theneweditor.com via Instapundit. So it comes to you third-hand. Does that make this less interesting? Here we go:
“The Tennessee Center for Policy Research, in a press release, notes the following: (emphasis added) (via Instapundit)
[Al] Gore’s mansion, located in the posh Belle Meade area of Nashville, consumes more electricity every month than the average American household uses in an entire year, according to the Nashville Electric Service (NES).
In his documentary, the former Vice President calls on Americans to conserve energy by reducing electricity consumption at home.
The average household in America consumes 10,656 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year, according to the Department of Energy. In 2006, Gore devoured nearly 221,000 kWh—more than 20 times the national average.
Last August alone, Gore burned through 22,619 kWh—guzzling more than twice the electricity in one month than an average American family uses in an entire year. As a result of his energy consumption, Gore’s average monthly electric bill topped $1,359.
…
Gore’s extravagant energy use does not stop at his electric bill. Natural gas bills for Gore’s mansion and guest house averaged $1,080 per month last year.”
Enjoy your Oscar, Al. Enjoy the profits from the documentary. Personally, I think you’re making a big difference in the fight to urge Americans to live a more simple, stripped down (dare I say “fasted”?) lifestyle. Your example is a beacon of hope to all of us who endeavor to make millions a year, fly around in a private jet spewing much jet-fuel into the air, and burn through the energy of 24 American families.
I, personally, am challenged. I am not doing my part - I’m SUV shopping on Thursday, cranking my thermostat to 99 and leaving the fridge wide open all the time. And I owe it all to Al.
David
February 27th, 2007
Here is some news that should bring you great relief: James Cameron (director of Titanic) has found the remains of Jesus and His family! The family members include Jesus Himself, of course, along with Mary, Mary Magdalene, Joseph, and Jesus’ son, Judah. There will be a press conference on Monday in which Jim completely shatters all of Paul the Apostle’s careful arguments laid out in 1 Cor. 15 regarding the necessity of the resurrection and its centrality to the Christian faith (and eternal hope). So, thanks to Jim’s tireless labor to prove his assertions through flawless DNA testing, we, above all men, are now most pitiable.
I’m being tongue-in-cheek, of course. Here’s the link to the Time magazine wordcast on this. I think I would resurrect the word “blog” to characterize the reporting being done in this case, but that’s neither here nor there. This is like finding the ancient remains of someone with a tombstone that reads “Bill” and assuming it’s your distant relative, Bill Smith. Since, you know, “Bill” matches and all. No one else in that time could have possibly had such obscure names like “Joseph”, “Mary”, and “Joshua”. It’s like, one in a million! I’m left wondering what other stunning puzzles related to life Jim Cameron will solve for me next. I’m hoping “meaning of life” is the next one he trashes, leaving me no option but to convert to nihilism.
I’m going to let out an exhausted sigh, go to a meeting, and then hopefully talk about “pure in heart” tonight sometime.
David
February 24th, 2007
It’s suddenly a good day again. Not that it wasn’t earlier, but I hate working hard for nuthin’. So I was, as I said, a little grumpitty. But no more! Two of my favorite people are wordcasting. They’re just getting rolling, so give them time, but I’m excited to read thoughts on stuff related to things involving objects and other sundry items of middling interest to those who follow such things.
Who they be? Why, Molly Mosack and Sarah Sun Kim, of course! Check them out!
Make sure you ask Molly about her title.
Side note: Daniel said more cute stuff, and 24 needs to do a bit more than be boring for 59 minutes while being shocking for one. There you go.
David
February 23rd, 2007
I was halfway through my favorite post of my series on the beatitudes, on the “pure in heart” and the audacious promise of Jesus to those who pursue Him wholeheartedly, when I walked away from my computer to pray for awhile. Then, when I came back, my post was gone. I don’t want to think about it anymore. I’ve been annoyed all day.
So I’ll vent my frustrations on Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and one of the aggressive atheists I spoke of a while back. If you were interested in some of my comments last month, you might be mildly interested in this exchange between Michael Ruse (a hardened Darwinist who, realizing that proving atheism itself is untenable, calls himself a “skeptic”) and Daniel Dennett, author of Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon.
I don’t want to provide the link, because of a spot of inappropriate language (and the young readers that frequent this wordcast), but here’s a bit of the conversation:
“Fifth, I think that you and Richard are absolute disasters in the fight against intelligent design – we are losing this battle, not the least of which is the two new supreme court justices who are certainly going to vote to let it into classrooms – what we need is not knee-jerk atheism but serious grappling with the issues – neither of you are willing to study Christianity seriously and to engage with the ideas – it is just plain silly and grotesquely immoral to claim that Christianity is simply a force for evil, as Richard claims – more than this, we are in a fight, and we need to make allies in the fight, not simply alienate everyone of good will.”
Now that is just plain fascinating to me.
David
February 23rd, 2007
The beatitudes constitute a whole garden of heart attitudes that are awakened within the believer at the new birth. Even before we “feel” or consciously and naturally express those heart attitudes, the work must begin immediately to care for and nurture those tender, immature plants. Before we receive a revelation of eternity, we must begin to mourn. Before we fully understand the aspects of independence and pride that drive us to react to the people and situations that irritate and wound us, we must work to learn meekness. Before we yearn and long for holiness, we must still live holy before the Lord in full obedience. Obviously, we will fail miserably early and often in this pursuit.
Not only are the beatitudes a simultaneous reality that we must grow and cultivate, but they also constitute the natural progression of our hearts before God as we journey from immaturity to maturity. Cultivating each successfully through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit makes it much easier in many ways to lay hold of the next one in the progression. A true revelation of our spiritual poverty and great need naturally can lead us to mourn deeply for the absence of God in our lives and homes. We are humbled in the process; thus we stand before God broken, weak, and truly dependent as a result. If the “plants” of spiritual poverty and mourning are healthy realities in our hearts, it doesn’t take as much work to be meek before God and man.
Then, along the way, we grow in our desires for the things of heaven. Supernatural longings lay hold of our hearts and we grow in thirst for the establishment of righteousness. Not only are we continually mourning the lack, but we now have a corresponding thirst for the fullness of God. Desire for righteousness and the things of God do not necessarily translate immediately into success in living obediently and diligently on a daily basis, however. Even now, the sting of failures past chasten us and check our prideful, self-congratulatory tendencies, as if the Beatitudes could be reduced to a kind of spiritual “checklist” to be accomplished on the way to glory.
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February 21st, 2007
I am not what would be known as a “dispensationalist”. Among other things, one who believes in dispensational theology believes in what is known as the “pre-trib” rapture theory. Any who have heard me teach and preach know my stand on that viewpoint. There are many other ideas associated with the pre-trib rapture theory that I disagree with beyond what I feel is the most grievous error, that being the idea that saints will be removed from trouble before the worst of it comes to the earth. The main idea, that there are different “dispensations” or eras in which God deals with humans differently, is one that is filled with error. Most do not connect with the details of dispensationalism; they only know and cling to the popularized idea that has filled the church in the west.
Thus, the dispensational idea that this is the “Laodicean hour” of the church has much truth to it; the great irony is that the theory itself has greatly contributed to the present lukewarm condition of the church. There is, however, a deeper reality fueling the current “pop theology” or the embrace of preaching and teaching that “tickles the ears” and comforts the carnal mind. The greater problem facing the church is a severe lack of hunger and thirst for righteousness.
As an intercessor, I readily and easily connect to this passage in Matt. 5:6. As I have undertaken the journey of prayer over the years I have seen a dynamic thing happen within me that has given me hope. My desires have changed. The things I want and long for have changed. I feel within me the beginnings of a little flame that represent an ache within me to see the righteousness of God established in my life and in my city. It is a real and holy aggression that has seized my heart, a stirring deep within my inner man that has provoked me to press and cry out in the place of prayer. I spend my days praying Colossians 1:9-11 -
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February 20th, 2007
One of the most overlooked phrases in the Bible is the promise that the “meek shall inherit the earth.” It’s too incredible of an idea to ponder in regards to the actual implications of inheriting the actual earth. The paradigm of my spiritual family allows for us to “skip the pleasantries”, as it were, and go right for the meat of the definition of meekness. That’s what I so enjoy and value about the place I live and work on a daily basis - for the thousands that interact with IHOP-KC on a regular basis, “inheriting the earth” is a normal idea. Many have long passed from being awed by that thought and have put their head down to grind away and take seriously the mandate to be meek before God and man.
It is still important, however, that we understand what constitutes one of the most critical phrases in the entire Bible. This phrase, that God delights in meekness to the extent that He would give the planet to the man or woman who walks in it, then becomes our window into an otherworldly value system. It punctuates what our Father in heaven believes is the most critical thing to have on a “global leadership” resume. What qualifies a man to rule before the Sovereign King of the Universe? What establishes us as worthy to receive such an incredible gift from Him? Is it automatic that every believer will receive this gift?
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February 19th, 2007
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