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“Sin Lies At Your Door”

Thursday, March 11th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

Genesis chapter 4 is the story of Cain and Abel.  It is a story that we have probably known since childhood.  I can remember the picture Bible that I had.  In it was a page about Cain and Abel, arguing in a field before the murder occurred.   My Sunday school instruction was focused on that act of vengeance – the first murder.

But if I set aside those childhood images and actually study the text, I find that the emphasis that God puts on this event is comes before the murder takes place.  God’s conversation with Cain reveals something far more important about the nature of sin.  Let’s look closely and see.

Cain and Abel bring offerings to God.  The word for “offering” here also means “tribute” so there is a deliberate implication that they both recognized the necessity to pay homage to their King.  Abel’s offering is accepted.  Cain’s is not.  The text says nothing more.  It does not tell us why God did not accept Cain’s tribute.  But it does tell us that because Cain’s offering was not accepted, he was depressed and crestfallen.  While he was in this mood, God came to talk with him.

“Cain, why are you depressed?” was God’s opening question.  Even this question should alert us to God’s focus on the matter.  God did not ask several other questions that would have seemed logical.  He did not ask, “Why didn’t you bring me a tribute that was acceptable?”   He did not ask, “Why didn’t you pay attention to my requirements?”  He did not ask, “Why did you disobey me?”  In fact, there is no implication that Cain committed any sin at this point.  God focuses on Cain’s mood.  This is a counseling session.  The Master psychotherapist is leading his second client (do you know who the first client was?) to examine his emotional state of mind.

“Cain, why are you depressed?” implies that God is surprised to find Cain in an ugly mood.  The fact that God makes no mention at all of the rejected offering implies that Cain still has the opportunity to make his tribute acceptable.  Cain, God says, you don’t need to be upset about this.  Just go out and fix it.  I am not upset with you.  I just want you to make things right with me.  I am giving you the opportunity to correct this situation, with no strings attached.

God goes on to re-affirm this opportunity.  He says, “If you do well, won’t your disposition change – won’t you be happy?”  The text says, “won’t your countenance be lifted up?”  Cain, says God, listen to me.  Go out and fix this thing.  I will accept the correction.  Your mood will change from depression to joy.  Instead of looking down and feeling depressed, you will look up and feel accepted.  It’s just a matter of taking my advice and following through.  Still God says nothing about sin.  He is giving Cain the opportunity and the direction needed to establish the proper relationship between them.

Then the Master psychotherapist provides a warning.  The second part of verse 7 is the real emphasis of this story.  “And if you do not do well, sin is lying at the door and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

God knows that emotional situations can become the seedbed for sinful acts.  He sees Cain’s depression.  He knows that there are two monumental choices facing Cain.  Cain can agree with God’s assessment of the situation and take steps to repair the relationship.  Or Cain can defend himself, refuse God’s assistance and let his emotional state carry him into action.

Sin is lying at the door. Notice some very important things about this statement.  First, sin is still outside.  It is right there, ready to come in if invited, but it is not yet part of the emotional equation.  The word used here is rabas.  It means “a resting place.”  In almost every occurrence in the Old Testament it is associated with “repose” or “rest after exertion”.  It does not carry with it the idea of something evil lying in wait.  In fact, this word is used many times to symbolically describe the rest of sheep under the shepherd’s care.  Translations that imply that this verse means sin is crouching like a tiger, ready to spring into action probably miss the mark.  God says to Cain, “Sin is in repose just outside your mind.  If you choose to accept my solution, it will stay there.  It cannot begin to work until you open the door.  But if you don’t heed my warning, if you let this emotion take hold of you, sin will have the opportunity it needs to come to action.  Be careful, Cain.”

Then God closes His conversation with this remark, “Sin’s desire is for you but you must master it.”  Sin wants control.  Sin needs control.  The word for desire used here occurs only three times in the Old Testament.  In both of the other occurrences, it is about sexual desire.  Is there any stronger form of desire to take over someone than sexual desire?  Is there any stronger emotion than the emotion of wanting to possess the object of my lust?  God makes it very clear.  Sin wants to own you.  Sin wants a controlling, intimate involvement with you.  And it will use the emotional gateway to get what it wants.

But God says that Cain can be sin’s master.  It is up to him.  Choose!  You still have time, Cain.  You can still reverse this emotional roller coaster you are on and prevent the downhill slide.  Nod your ascent to my evaluation of the circumstance of your life.  Agree that I am your King and deserve your tribute.  And it will be acceptable.  You will find joy.  You will be released from this depression.

Or – open the door to that sleeping dog and all Hell will follow.  It will take control of your emotions, and your mind and then your actions until there is no way back.

Cain went away from that conversation and plotted murder.  In the text, there is no argument with Abel.  Not a word is recorded about any conversation between them.  The text says that Cain, with pre-meditation, found Abel and killed him.  Sin no longer lay in repose at the door.  Sin took over Cain’s life.

This old story introduces the second methodology of sin’s operation.  When Adam and Eve sinned, the steps were introduced with doubt.  All the serpent did was place a doubt about God’s integrity in the mind of Eve.  Then he fanned that spark of doubt until it burst into the flames of desire – the desire to be like God.  Cain’s encounter with sin’s control and destruction does not come through doubt.  Cain’s fall comes through unyielding self-will.

“Why did you put me down, God?”  “I brought my tribute but you only liked his.”  “You humiliated me in front of him!”  “It’s your fault, God”.  “Don’t tell me what I have to do to make it right!”  “If it weren’t for you, I would be fine.”  “Stop preaching to me, I didn’t do anything wrong!”  “I’m not going to listen to your advice.”  “You just want me to do it your way.”  “There’s nothing wrong with my way.”

Two children bring their homework to the teacher.  One child has done everything according to the instructions.  It is accepted.  The other child, for whatever reason, has only completed part of the assignment.

“Look here”, says that teacher, pointing to the instruction paragraph.  “Do you see what it says about using colors to show the relationships?  Please take this back to your seat and finish it according to these instructions.”  There is no judgment given.  Only counsel.

But the child is distraught.  “Why should I have to follow those instructions?  I want to do it my way.  I’m right.  You’re wrong.  You see, I don’t have to do what you tell me to.”

God’s counseling practice is open twenty-four seven.  He knows the state of our emotions.  He knows that sin lies just outside the door, ready to rouse itself to action if we decide to do it our way.  So many times in my life I have ignored that inner reminder that, in spite of my will to control everything, life does not operate according to my rules.  God reminded Cain that He was in charge.  He is the King.  The tribute must be acceptable to Him.  It doesn’t make any difference if I want to do it some other way.  I am free to do so, but my choosing not to agree with God’s assessment of my life will only open the door for sin’s control.

When I find myself in the throes of emotional battles I need to seek God’s advice.  God says, “You must master it.”  The choice is still mine.  Am I upset?  Am I discouraged?  Am I angry?  Am I lonely, heartbroken, afraid?  In the midst of every emotional trauma, I can still seek God’s view of my circumstances.  I can still rely on His control and concern.

Or I can do it myself!

Sin is sleeping at the door.

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Piling Up

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

Written many years ago, sometimes it’s good to reflect on past experiences.

These days I am having to learn lessons about acceptance.  It is February in New Jersey.  We are having the worst winter anyone around here can remember.  My car is stuck in the ice (and had been for some days now).  Schools are closed (and have been quite regularly).  Business has ground to a halt – no one is in.  This is the second month of sub zero wind chills.  The second month of constant shoveling.  The second month of astronomical heating bills, no salt, no sand.  It is the era of cabin fever.

I try to work.  The kids are constantly underfoot, being kids bored with life, unable to do what they want to do (go outside).  So they find ways to antagonize each other.  They succeed in exasperating me.  Television is pathetic, even when the cable is working.  We have seen every Disney video twenty times.

My wife is home from the office.  The telephone rings constantly.  Is she there?  Just one more call and I’ll watch the kids for awhile, I hear.  Twenty five minutes of conversation, one minute of baby-sitting, another ring.  So it goes.  I would rather she brave the impassable roads and go to the office.  I am exhausted trying to keep the kids occupied and away from her at the same time.  I give up every expectation of getting anything done on my agenda.

At least I can do the household fix up chores.  It seems like a burst of inspiration.  But the nineteen month old keeps picking up the screwdriver, the four year old wants to hammer.  I put it down.  I’ll just read.  The littlest one decides that reading would be great – as long as I am reading to her.  I sit and stare blankly at the ESPN channel, watching the women do step aerobics.  Only six more weeks until the thaw.  Could life get more pathetic?

God must have known that we would have days like these.  I am reminded of a host of phrases which seem so impossible now.  “In everything give thanks”, “all things work together for good”, “Rejoice evermore”, “This is the day that the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it”.  All those wonderful, positive expressions seem so barren at the moment.  They don’t not speak comfort to me.  If anything, they convict me for I am not rejoicing, I’m not giving thanks, I’m not glad.  I want to say to God, “Wait a minute.  You can do anything you want to.  You can take care of all of these trying circumstances with just a whisper.  But what about me?  I’m here, stuck in the ice with two kids, no car, bored, frustrated, angry.  How come I have to go through this stuff day after day?”

I don’t get verbal responses.  It’s probably a good thing.  I would most likely interpret a verbal answer as a sure sign that I had finally gone crazy from all this frustration.  Instead I find that I am reminded of some of the basics of my beliefs.  I hear Paul saying to me, “to know him and the fellowship of his suffering” is all that matters.  I hear James reminding me that I need to “count it all joy when” I fall into attitude temptations.  I remember Jesus’ teaching about the sparrows.  And then I think of the one who saved me from my ego filled attitudes.  Jesus.  Did he have it so easy?  Forget the crucifixion.  What about just ordinary life?  Didn’t he have to deal with cuts and bruises?  Didn’t he encounter traveling woes?  Didn’t he face unsympathetic people demanding of him?  Didn’t he experience interruptions and distractions?  Didn’t he have to manage conflicting relationships?  And didn’t he do it, without ever losing his proper attitude toward who God His father is.  “Give us this day, our daily bread”.  Is that just a request for this day’s provisions, or is it also part of the plea for spiritual nourishment?  Not living by bread alone must mean asking for what we need today for all of our sustenance.  And today God has given me snow, ice, children, interruptions, an unplanned agenda.  As part of my required nourishment.  As something that I need from Him to grow.

That thought challenges my attitude.  Maybe it isn’t my wife or the weather or the kids or whatever else comes my way today that I need to work on.  The fact is that these things hardly ever seem to change and certainly they do not change because I try to make them different.  The only thing that really affects my circumstances is me.  I can change only one thing – who I am.

Sometimes it takes a reminder.  God seems to accomplish that part of the process quite efficiently.  I get a phone call from someone in Minnesota.  He laughs at my complaints about the weather.  It’s 32 below zero there.  Some else calls from California.  The earthquake has changed his commute from 30 minutes to 6 hours.  My four year old greets me as I walk into the kitchen and, unprompted, tells me that I am his best Dad.  Could I color with him, please?  If I let myself see reality instead of my projections, life is simply what it is – a time and place for adjustments, gratitude and grace.

God, grant me the strength to accept the things that I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

One day at a time.

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Correction on Galatians

Tuesday, March 09th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

Attentive reader John McNear informed me that Disc 3 and Disc 4 of Galatians were switched.  I fixed the audio files and re-uploaded them to the Galatians page.  Thanks John.

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Paradigm Shifts: A Change in Method

Saturday, March 06th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

Are you salt?  Jesus used this metaphor to help us understand the effect that we are to have on the surrounding culture.  We are not to be unnoticed, blended consistency.  We are supposed to make a difference – a difference that is immediately detected.  Christians flavor life with a God-perspective.

You probably agree.  What’s the point of being a Christian if your life is exactly the same as the high valued non-believers of this world?  Why adopt a God-perspective if no one can tell the difference between God’s point of view and the best morality human beings can muster?  After all, Christianity has to be more than just attending the church of your choice and learning a few Bible verses.  The claim of Christianity is that Christians are actively involved in Kingdom endeavors in every aspect of their lives.  Kingdom work doesn’t just occur on the mission field or in the Sunday school.  Kingdom work is supposed to happen everywhere I go – on the job, at home, in school, even in the mall.

Does that mean that I am to carry my Bible or have a pocket full of tracts?  Does it mean that I hold up a reader board emblazoned with “Repent or go to hell!”?  Am I supposed to preach on the street corner to an audience with deaf ears?  Most of us would say, “No.”  Such actions might be what some feel called to do, but for most of us being a Christian has to mean something more penetrating.  I have to learn how to be salt in every meal circumstances serve.

Let’s consider just one salty paradigm shift.  How does being a Christian change the way that you organize, plan and execute decisions?  How does being a Christian change your Standard Operating Procedure?

Amazingly, most of us never think that being a Christian makes any difference at all to the way that we operate.  We never consider that the process of gathering information, sorting out options, planning strategies, considering risks, determining goals and constructing step-by-step tactics can be a “salt” experience.  We just think that this methodology is the only methodology because it is the one that we have learned in the process of living in the world.  We simply can’t imagine any other way of accomplishing tasks.  Of course, there are lots of ways that don’t work.  We are quick to point out the deficiencies in plans that fail, citing some overlooked step in the process.  But we never consider that correct execution could be radically different.  We never think about the salt perspective.  It’s time that we did.

The methodology of the world is based on process thinking.  Process thinking is the step-by-step rational ordering of actions in the pursuit of a goal.  Nearly every goal oriented endeavor you have ever taken in life probably reflects this kind of thinking.  It is without question the fundamental rational tool taught in school.  But it has some serious implications for God-perspective living.

Process thinking moves me toward independence.  The point of process thinking is this:  I know what to do next without requiring moment-by-moment guidance.  Correct application of process thinking is evaluated by progress toward the goal without further input.

Let’s look at an example.  It is quite common in football to outline a “game plan”.  Coaches often script in advance the first twenty or thirty plays that they will run.  They construct a step-by-step order that they believe will advance them toward a touchdown before the team even steps on to the field.  The coach develops this process thinking by going through the steps we commonly understand.  He gathers information, outlines a strategy, determines tactics, assesses risk and develops a plan.  It all looks great on paper.  Then the whistle blows and suddenly someone intercepts the pass.  There’s a fumble.  A player gets injured.  The game plan disintegrates when it comes into contact with the real world.  Process thinking assumes controlled reality.  Even when the plan is continually altered in the face of unanticipated events, process thinking still assumes reality can be brought back under control.  The biggest problem with process thinking is that it leads me toward the assumption that I can control my world.  This assumption stands behind nearly every business plan.  It is resident in financial planning, retirement planning, educational planning.  It is the Standard Operating assumption of the world’s system.

Unfortunately, reality constantly frustrates our process thinking assumption.  Plans don’t go the way we thought they would.  The stock market doesn’t behave correctly (why should it?).  Enron and Tyco executives steal my retirement (my plans did not anticipate theft).  Terrorism alters the world market demand (my sales plans did not anticipate September 11, as Disney quickly learned).  Even on a personal scale, reality constantly frustrates the control assumption behind process thinking.  A flat tire, a bounced check, a sick child, a missed appointment and suddenly my world isn’t quite so orderly.  The world is determined to remind me that I am not in control in spite of all my efforts to batter it into the shape I desire.

Salt mentality takes a different approach.

The Standard Operating Procedure from God’s point of view is not process thinking.  God is not interested in your plans.  God is interested in your attention to His plans.  And God never reveals more of His plan than what is absolutely necessary at this particular moment.  Why?  Because God’s SOP is not process thinking.  It is consultation.

The Standard Operating Procedure of the consultation approach to life is radically different.  It is fostered entirely by dependence.  Consultation depends on externally provided guidance.  It looks like this:  STOP – WAIT – LISTEN – ACT

Consultation requires me to always be connected to another guiding source, not myself.  Consultation requires that I do not move to the next step until I hear the command to do so.  No step automatically follows another.  Consultation demands clarified obedience as a response to guidance, not as a planned execution.  Consultation is based on releasing the truth as God sees it by first encountering the present Lord.  Consultation cannot move forward without direction and it does not move forward without assignment.  Consultation is the posture of the obedient slave.

If we read the stories of men who understood what it is like to be salt in this world, we discover that they had no preconceived agendas.  If fact, when they did come to the party with an operational agenda, God took great pains to remove their plans from the table.  From Abraham’s attempt to handle the famine to Gideon’s effort to raise an army, from Peter’s proclamation of violent defense to Paul’s plan to go to Bithynia, God rearranges human plans to suit His purposes.  God wants moment-by-moment obedience, not long-term strategy.  Why?  Because obedience means dependence and devotion, two characteristics that God values far more than goal achievement.  Consultation thinking removes me from the subtle temptation to think that God needs me to accomplish His will.  Surprise!  God is perfectly capable of running the world without me.  But He is very anxious to include me in what He is doing.  Consultation begins with “What would you have me do, Lord?” rather then “OK, Lord, I know what to do next.”

Given this change in methodology, it shouldn’t be surprising to discover that Christians are unpredictable.  They listen and respond to God, not to planned human project management.  They operate exclusively under the assumption that God is in charge and the only real job is to hear what He has to say and do what He asks.  Real salt Christians depend on God for their direction.  Even in their methodology, they stick out like sore thumbs.  They just don’t think like the world thinks.

That raises a penetrating question:  How much salt is in your operating diet?

There are some other powerful implications for the consultation methodology.  Contemplation is the doorway to Consultation.  Unless I STOP and LOOK, I will not hear the voice of guidance from God.  STOPPING is critical to the consultation method.  It is, however, antithetical to process thinking.

Once I STOP, I must LOOK with loving attention and moral responsibility.   Jesus contemplated the wild flowers of the field and he saw something about the hand of God in reality.  Jesus spent hours in prayer listening to the voice of the Father until he was so sensitive to it that the Father’s voice directed everything he did and everything he said.  Jesus was the fully dependent man.  And Jesus says that this is a method that we can learn, if we STOP the propelling frenzy of process thinking.

The Greek word epignosis captures the consultation methodology.  Epignosis is knowing by intimate interpersonal experience.  It demands paying attention, not simply intellectually but also emotionally and morally.  It is the epitome of relationship responding.  From the Biblical point of view, epignosis is the gift of God.

Abraham Heschel once said that something sacred hangs in the balance of every moment.  He knew that consultation and contemplation go hand in hand.  He knew that God is the Lord of all my times and I need only STOP, LOOK and LISTEN if I am to know what God asks of me next.

The salt question of life is this:  Am I living as though every moment is pregnant with the Spirit?  Have I stopped to listen for God’s next command?  Or is the push of the plan propelling me at a pace that prevents the practice of His presence?

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Thy Kingdom Come: The War of Values

Friday, March 05th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

The war is coming.  It is not a war that will be fought with tanks and smart bombs.  It is a war that will be fought in the shops and the boardrooms, in the PTA and the city council.  It is the values war.  We have seen only the first skirmishes of this worldwide battle.  But those skirmishes are enough to wake us up to a deep, spiritual reality.  Something evil comes this way.  This war is an all out effort to remove God from society.

There is a lot of talk about values these days.  Government legislation dictates as never before the requirement of values training.  But anyone who understands human nature knows that values training is nothing but a veneer.  Unless the heart of a man is changed, subscribing to a set of external values will never modify behavior in the dark.  Values concerns lead directly to God issues and wherever values are under attack, God is in the battle.

For many centuries, the cultural foundation of the Western world has been found in simple declarations like those of the Lord’s Prayer.  Whether or not we understood the spiritual depth of these mantras of society, we were recipients of their power.  Jesus’ thought had a direct influence over society’s behavior.  Now we find a strident attempt to remove any vestige of His influence.  This battle has cosmic consequences.  It is the final attempt of Man to assert his independence from God and it has incredible consequences for everyone it touches.

There is a strategic response.  That response was formulated centuries ago when the disciples asked Jesus how they should pray.  If we understand the implications of Jesus’ instruction, we will find a way to oppose this ancient threat in modern dress.  We must know what Jesus meant when he included, “Thy kingdom come” in our address to God.

What does it mean to actively contribute to God’s kingdom here on earth?  Jesus’ instructions on prayer certainly make it clear that bringing about God’s kingdom is of utmost importance.   The Lord’s Prayer specifically endorses the exercise of this kingdom on earth, here and now.  Followers of the Christ are not idle bystanders waiting for the last day to enter into a kingdom found only in heaven.  We are called to promote kingdom values here.  We are called to radically alter the existing patterns of this world so that the world will reflect the glory due its Creator.  But what specifically does this mean?  Is this effort limited to the “sacred” arena?  Are Kingdom activities found only inside the church or confined to the religious world?  Jesus’ words give us a different picture.

Jesus announced the mission of the Kingdom in his first public address.  The best leadership always begins with a clear mission based in core ideology.  Jesus’ announcement combines a deliberate foundation from the past with a commanding call to future action.

“And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”

By quoting the prophet Isaiah, Jesus establishes the historical continuity of the values of His mission.  The God at work in the past is the same God who is now revealing a new chapter in human intervention.  An important development is occurring in the presence of those listening; a development that fulfills the first part of Isaiah’s vision.  But this development is not radically new.  It has eternal continuity.

Jesus says that the kingdom of God-drawing-close is intimately involved with these four actions:  to preach the good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, to heal the blind and to set free the oppressed.

The relationship between these tangible activities and the core values of the Kingdom receives further emphasis in Jesus’ discussion of success.  In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus points toward those actions that are consistent with the core values of the Kingdom.  He describes the day when the king judges the success of his servants.  Those who receive the blessing, “Come and inherit the kingdom prepared for you” are the ones whose actions are as follows:

“For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.”

When we pray, “Thy Kingdom come on earth”, we are asserting that we are in concert with Kingdom values and actions.  We are proclaiming that our lives are contributing to the mission announced by Jesus.  In fact, we are saying that hallowing God’s name, honoring Who He is, means at the very least that we are deliberately attempting to fulfill the same objectives of the Kingdom:  to preach the good news, to proclaim release, to heal and to free.  This proclamation gives us a specific target audience: the poor, the captive, the blind, the oppressed, the hungry, the thirsty, the strangers, the naked, the sick and the imprisoned.

The sovereign God places us in precisely the intersection of events and people that He requires.  That intersection may not always be directly related to the target audience of the Kingdom activities.  It may be difficult to imagine how operating a machine lathe or working at a Dairy Queen can align our actions with Jesus’ call to Kingdom values.  We may see no immediate relationship between our roles as CFO or Division Manager and the hungry, thirsty and naked.  But our lack of understanding and vision does not mean that there is no relationship.  God’s Kingdom values are intended to be a deliberate and distinguishable choice of every Kingdom follower.  The fact that your present work is not directly related does not exempt you from fulfilling the tasks of the Kingdom.  It only means that you must make the connection to these core values by indirect means.

It is important to notice that these actions are not necessarily confined to the arena of the church.  In many respects, these kingdom-producing activities cannot occur within the walls of the church.  The poor must hear the good news where they are.  The imprisoned must be visited where they are.  The sick are to be visited where they are.  The blind healed where they are.  This work is the action of the community of the redeemed outside the walls, in the world.  This is not a proposal for building and inviting.  This is a project of equipping and delivering.  The core ideology of God’s Kingdom values demands that we move beyond the edges of our group and into the world at large, transforming it by injection, not by invitation.

We often overlook the implication that this pattern is equally applicable for every organizational structure.  God’s plan is dispersion.  The church, the company, the community, the constituency – it makes no difference – those on the inside are commanded to reach outside.

Therefore, if your workplace is going to be aligned with God’s plan for the Kingdom, it must be engaged in outside work.  Your manufacturing business must be involved in some form of God’s four target markets.  Your sales staff must be involved in something beyond President’s Club success and next year’s products.  You are expected to make a different among the poor, the sick, the imprisoned and the oppressed.

And you know what?  When you align yourself with His direction, you find a flow with the universe.

The requirement is clear enough.  Perhaps it is worth commenting on the rationale.  Why does God make the outcasts a priority?  Why does God assign Kingdom activities to the cross-sections of humanity who are the least likely choices of association?  The answer exposes our arrogance and self-sufficiency.  The answer is this:  God assigns us tasks that engage us with the world’s left-behinds because He knows that confrontation with desperation is the only way that we can ensure our faith stays scrubbed of self-righteousness.  This is why it is totally inadequate to give money but not give myself to Kingdom activities.  God expects me to embrace those who are in need, directly, tangibly, with compassion, in order that I own desperate need will be refreshed.  It is simply impossible for me to visit a man condemned to life in prison and not be moved by my own freedom.  It is inconceivable for me to hold the hand of the dying and not be aware of my own living.  I cannot feed the starving and not be thankful for my own provision.  I cannot read to the blind and not praise God for my sight.

I do not engage myself with the audience of God’s Kingdom for their sakes.  I engage for my sake.  I engage because otherwise I might begin to believe that I am different, that I have merit or favor, that I deserve my reward.  I engage with the downtrodden and the sick and the poor and the imprisoned in order that God can remind me of my own frail dependence on Him.  I am an outcast too.  These are my brothers and sisters.  God’s answer to significance always means relationships.

America has reduced compassion to a tax-deductible handout.  We have sterilized giving.  We have successfully altered Kingdom activities so that we no longer stain our clothes or dirty our hands.  We are the righteous givers whose “sacrifice” does not interfere with our need for cable TV and a Lexus.  We stink.

If you want the fragrance of compassion to permeate your life, your company and your church, keep your money and give your time.  Put your soul into it.  You will discover what it means to be a cheerful giver.  You will find that you cannot keep your money.  And you will know something about honoring God.

What would happen to the internal values of your business if a requirement of employment was commitment to one of God’s Kingdom-building external values?  How would the CEO be different if she spent an hour a week at the homeless center?  What attitudes would change if the VP of Sales worked one afternoon (on company time) at the county jail or the pregnancy crisis clinic?  What would happen to the Chairman if he led a group of fatherless boys on a weekend retreat?  Kingdom values change lives.  It was designed that way.

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OPEN EYES FAITH

Thursday, March 04th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

Sometimes I think we get the idea that God leaves us in the dark on purpose.  We have the bump-into-things view of faith, like walking through a room with the lights off.  This morning my wife and I read our devotional page from Oswald Chambers’ book.  We talked about our current situation.  Nothing seems to have changed to correct the financial crisis we face.  The external evidence still points to a dwindling bank account and not enough income.  She said to me, “I know that God has His reasons.  But I would just like to know what they are”.  As I thought about her request, I was reminded of people in history whom God directed.

Abraham is a good example.  We have a heroic view of Abraham.  We think of him as a pillar of faith.  We know the story of his willingness to sacrifice Isaac.  We remember his negotiation with God to rescue Lot.  But we often forget that Abraham had years of struggle and doubt.  We forget that he was very human – just like us.  And God still chose him.

Abraham started out well.  God called him away from his culture, family and friends.  God said, “Follow me to a place I will show you” and Abraham responded.  Now that takes faith!  How many of us would pack up everything we had, sell the house, leave the job and just go somewhere based only on a voice from God.  God didn’t even bother to tell Abraham where he was going.  He just said, “Get on the road and I will let you know when you need to know”.  Abraham made his first stop at a sacred grove on a mountain.  There he made an altar and worshipped God.  He demonstrated his faith even though he still had no idea what the plan was all about.  Things seemed to be settling down.

God showed up and explained that some day Abraham’s descendents would inherit all the land that surrounded Abraham.  God would see to it.  Of course, there was only one small problem.  Abraham didn’t have any descendents.  But God told him not to worry.  Things would work out exactly as God intended.

Then Abraham got his first real test.  There was a famine in the land.  Nothing to eat, provisions running low and plenty to worry about.  Abraham decided to head for Egypt where food was available.  But on the way he realized that Pharaoh would see how beautiful his wife was and would probably want her for himself.  Abraham reasoned that if that happened, Pharaoh might just kill him to get Sarah.  So, he came up with a plan.  He would tell Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister.  That way, nothing would happen to him.  Of course, a lot would happen to Sarah, but Abraham didn’t seem too concerned about her.  After all, he had to protect himself so that he could get what God promised.  It wouldn’t do much good if he were killed.  So, he lied.  And things got very bad indeed when his lie was discovered.

Abraham failed the test.  Do you think that God would have let Abraham be killed in Egypt if God had already promised that Abraham was going to be a great nation?  You have to wonder why Abraham didn’t trust God to take care of the situation.  Abraham lied to protect his own skin.  But his lie denied God’s promised protection.  The Father of Faith made a big mistake (and, as we see when we read the stories, he seems to have made the same mistake more than once).

Of course, after Pharaoh kicks Abraham out of Egypt, Abraham regrets his lack of faith.  He comes back to worship God.  He straightens out his trust problem.  But he has set the tone for the family.  Lot follows uncle Abraham’s lead and ends up in a real mess.  And Sarah does the same thing.  She shows the sin of impatience.  God’s promise is only good when she can see how it is going to work out.  And as the years go by, she figures that it’s time for her to take over.  That decision results in an internal family nightmare, an illegitimate son, more broken relationships and thirteen years of silence from God.  And, by the way, just in case we start thinking that it is all Sarah’s fault, we are reminded that Abraham is the one who agreed to have sex with Hagar in order to produce the required descendent.  Did Abraham have a momentary mental lapse?  Did he forget completely that God was able to handle every problem?  Or was the offer to have sex with someone else, with his wife’s blessing, more than any man could refuse?

God returns to the lives of these fractured people and renews His covenant.  Abraham finally seems to understand.  But there are still trials and failures and regrets and restorations ahead.  The Father of the Faith is quite human.  The Bible could have painted him as a great saint.  But it doesn’t.  I am convinced that God wants us to see the ups and downs of his life, and the lives of many of the saints.  Why?  Because the story is about what God does, not about how wonderful and spiritual we are.  God gets the credit.  He takes the time to show us that we are all cut from the same cloth.  And that should give us great comfort.  Our faith is just like the faith of those Bible heroes – struggling, rough and in need of purification.  But it is faith nevertheless, and God recognizes it for what it is.  If God didn’t give up on Abraham, a man who caused one family problem after another with lies, loose morals and doubt, then God won’t give up on us either.

Let’s look at what Paul (another one of those Bible heroes with a very checkered past) has to say about faith:

“for the righteous man shall live by faith”  Romans 1:17

“having been justified by faith, we have peace with God”  Romans 5:1

“whatever is not of faith is sin”  Romans 14:23

“and without faith it is impossible to please [God]”  Hebrews 11:6

A few more references will help.

“but he must ask in faith without any doubting”  James 1:6

“for we walk by faith, not by sight”  2 Cor. 5:7

“now faith is the assurance of things hope for, the conviction of things not seen”  Hebrews 11:1

Let’s see if we can draw some conclusions from these verses.  Faith begins with God’s grace toward us.  God was faithful in His promise long before we came to realize that what He says about us is true.  Just like Abraham, we responded to something that God had in mind before He asked us to get up and follow Him.  In other words, God’s intentions for us came first.  That is the essential meaning of “the righteous man is justified by faith”.  In the case of Abraham, God looked on Abraham as faithful in spite of Abraham’s human failings.  The Old Testament word is “accredited” or “counted”.  God counted Abraham as faithful – He decided to see Abraham as faithful.  God had something in mind for Abraham.  God had no intention of letting Abraham’s human failures stand in the way of divine plans, so God just kept after Abraham, reminding him that the promise was based on God, not on Abraham’s efforts.

We need to see our faith in the same light.  God has something in mind for each of us.  He has this in mind long before we get started on our journey toward the place He is going to show us.  Along the way, most of us get off track.  There is a Greek word for this.  It is planasthe.  It means “to cause to wander, to lead astray, to seduce or mislead” but we translate it as “deceive”.  Abraham got off track when he deceived himself into thinking he had to protect his own life in order for God’s promise to be fulfilled.  We do the same thing.  We don’t see how things are going to work out for us.  We worry about the money, our health, the job or any number of “protection” items.  And so we begin to take care of those things our own way.  We deceive ourselves into thinking that God needs us to lend a hand to His promise.  Just like Abraham, we eventually discover that we have made a mess.  The first thing we need to know about faith is that it is God’s plan for us, not our plan worked out with an acknowledging nod toward God.

Faith does not begin with us.  Faith begins with God.  First, God acts on our behalf.  His intentions always precede ours.  In fact, about the only thing He asks is for us to follow.  He didn’t say to Abraham, “Now, get out there and make things happen.  Go up the road until you think you have arrived.  Set up shop.  Build a city.  Make babies.  Get wealthy and build a big church.  Then, when you have done all that, I’ll come back and inspect your efforts”.  No, God said, “Follow along and I will show you something.  I’ll show you when I’m ready.  You just tag along behind”.  Funny thing.  Jesus said almost the same words.  “Follow me”.

Faith begins with God.  Actually, it’s a good thing that it does.  If faith began with us, we would certainly mess it up.  And even better, when we do mess it up, God can still bring about His intentions for us.  Abraham messed it up several times.  God still produced the results He wanted.  God had to deal with all the mess that Abraham made along the way.  Extra children.  Broken relationships.  Bad company.  An abused wife.  But God was more than able to manage all that mess and still get Abraham where God wanted him to be.  Just a bunch of extra baggage that Abraham packed into the trip.

If faith begins with God, why do we carry along so much extra stuff?  Why are we always trying to “fix” things that God forgot about?  “Wait a minute, God!  Did you forget that I have to pay that bill?  Did you forget about that assignment I need to do?  Hey, what about my plans to take that job?  Did you forget I need a new car?  Don’t you remember that my husband doesn’t treat me right?”

When faith begins with God, we have absolute assurance that faith will arrive at its intended destination.  We’re not in charge, thank God!  So, relax!  Follow along.  Stop adding to the pile you’re carrying.  God knows what you need.  It’s His train.  You’re just a passenger.  The greatest struggle of faith is to remember who owns the train.  Faith is remembering who’s who.  The reason the Bible includes all those stories about the failures of faith’s heroes is to remind us that faith is about God, not about us.  And God is able.  He is able to take any mess, any circumstance and any problem – the stuff that just seems like there is no way in the world it will ever work – and bring about His intentions.

A ninety-year-old woman gets pregnant.  An altar covered in water gets consumed with fire.  A starving man in the desert gets fed by birds.  A blind man knocks down a temple.  And God dies.  All of these things are impossible.  But they happened because God had His own plans in mind.  Isn’t he able to manage your journey?

Paul tells us that once we see our faith in terms of God’s promise toward us, we will have peace.  “having been justified by faith, we have peace with God”  Romans 5:1

The Greek word for “peace” is eirene.  In the New Testament, the word is about relationships, not external conditions.  The word is not primarily associated with resolution of political conflict, good health, personal well-being or even prosperity.  It is associated with words like love, grace, glory, honor, righteousness and mercy.  Its opposites are also words about relationships:  anxiety, anguish, fear, confusion, division, distress.  Peace is the settled confidence that my relationship with God has been repaired.  Jesus tells us that he “gives” this peace and “leaves” this peace with us.  It is not an announcement that we have accomplished something.  It is a gift left behind for us to enjoy.  Jesus is giving his followers a going-away present.  That present is unbroken fellowship with God.  It is a present that we can have right now and it will last forever.  It places a safety net over our lives that nothing can take away.

So, the second thing about faith is also about God.  Surprised?  You shouldn’t be.  God has purposes for you.  He will see that they are carried out.  And to do that, He is ready to give you peace.  It is the confidence that God is on my side, that I can trust Him completely.  He knows what He is doing.  I don’t have to second-guess His arrangements.

That’s exactly what got Abraham in so much trouble.  He knew God had plans.  He knew God made promises.  But he second-guessed how it was going to be done.  So, he did what we all do – the commonsense thing.  He went to Egypt.  He lied to protect himself.  He decided that sex with Hagar wasn’t such a bad idea.  He told the kings another lie.  Instead of waiting for God, he said to himself, “Hey, what gives here anyway?  God made me a promise but things look pretty bad.  I guess I’d better do something to make all this come true”.  God repaired the damage, but the damage didn’t need to be done.  Abraham was an impatient man.

Aren’t we the same?  Are we ready to wait for God?  Do you rely completely on the peace that we have?  We know that God has restored the relationship.  Why can’t we find comfort in that restoration?  Is anything more important?  Jesus tells us the same thing (isn’t is amazing that Jesus just reminds us of all those Old Testament lessons we forgot).  He says, “Why do you worry about what will happen to you?  Don’t you know that your heavenly Father knows all of your needs?  Seek Him first – follow along – and let Him take care of the rest”.  Jesus is a great tour guide.  He keeps putting us back on the train when we decide that there is a shorter way to glory and we fall off the track.

Faith is God first – and God second.  First, God comes after us.  Second, God looks after us.

If we just kept those two things in mind, we would have the mind of faith.  But Paul knows that we struggle.  So he provides us with a warning.

“whatever is not of faith is sin”

What is not of faith?  Not remembering rule 1 and rule 2.  Rule 1: God is in charge.  Rule 2: God is able.  He draws us to Him.  He restores our relationship with Him.  He protects and cares for us.  As long as we act in accordance with these simple facts of Life (for that’s what they are), we will exhibit faith.  As soon as we forget one of these simple things, we step off the train.  The biggest problem with stepping off the train is that it is still moving.  We get hurt.

The New Testament word for sin is hamartia.  It literally means “missing the mark”.  In this case, it might as well mean “doing it our way”.  It is the Frank Sinatra principle (“I did it my way”).  And, by the way, just in case you didn’t know it, Frank Sinatra was not God (neither was Elvis).  If I think that I can assist God by doing things my way, I am certainly going to miss the mark.  Abraham found out the hard way.  God didn’t visit him for thirteen years while Ishmael grew up.  For thirteen years, Abraham looked every day on the consequences of doing it his way.  For thirteen years, Sarah and Abraham had to deal every day with the results of doing it their way.  Not a very happy marriage.  And the other mother, Hagar, was right there in their faces every day.  There was no option of divorcing and moving across the country.  There were no restraining orders.  There was no child visitation.  Sometimes the consequences of our foolishness need to stay with us to remind us that faith is about God’s way, not ours.

“and without faith it is impossible to please [God]”  Hebrews 11:6.

Why is it impossible to please God without faith?  Well, think about it.  Faith is recognizing those two simple rules.  If I act without taking rule 1 and rule 2 into account, I will automatically be singing along with Frank.  Notice that the verse in Hebrews doesn’t say, “Without faith it’s pretty hard to please God”.  It doesn’t say, “Most of the time without faith it’s tough to please God”.  It says that it is impossible.  The Greek word is adunaton.  It literally means “is not able” or “can’t be done”.  Isn’t that amazing!  With faith, God is able.  Without faith, we are not able.  In other words, if I remember that God is in charge, then I know that God is able.  But if I forget that God is in charge, then it turns out that I am not able ultimately to please Him because I did not let Him do what He is able to do.  How simple is that!  God is able.  Let Him do it.  Sin is just deciding that God is not able and I need to do it.  That insults God.  No wonder He is displeased.

Sarah wants to enjoy the prestige of being associated with a great man – her husband.  God has promised he will be the father of many, a high honor indeed.  But Sarah doesn’t have a child.  She knows that she doesn’t have a child because God has not yet allowed her to have a child.  She recognizes God’s sovereignty when it comes to her body, but she is not willing to recognize God’s sovereignty over the rest of her world.  So, she decides to sing along with Frank.  She thinks, “God is not able to take care of this.  I’ll have to do it myself”.  She knows Abraham has eyed Hagar a few times.  Every wife knows this sort of thing.  So, she comes up with a plan that she knows Abraham won’t refuse.  Pretty soon they are all humming along with Frank.  When we think God is not able, we deny God’s faithfulness toward us.  We call God a liar.  It doesn’t work out very well.

“but he must ask in faith without any doubting”  James 1:6

There are times when doubt is a good thing.  If you are about to step off a moving train and you catch yourself doubting if you can make the step without injury, doubt is good.  It probably saved your life.  Oswald Chambers reminds us that whenever we encounter doubt in our walk behind God, we need to stop.  God does not promote doubt.  God is very clear about what He wants us to do, even if what He tells us is only a tiny step of the whole plan.  In fact, I don’t know a single person who ever knew the whole plan from the beginning.  I doubt (there’s that word again) that even Jesus knew it all for day one.  The Bible tells us that he had to grow up learning obedience just like we have to.  That’s very comforting.  If Jesus had to learn to follow, why should I think that I can just run ahead?

Now James tells us that if we are going to do something with our faith, we need to not start an internal dispute with ourselves.  That’s what this word means.  The Greek is diakrino.  It comes from the idea of separating or choosing between one thing and another.

There are two other words that are translated “doubt”.    One is dialogismos.  It means “to debate through words” or “argument”.  It is used in the New Testament for the idea of evil thoughts or argument.  It usually has the sense of trying to justify your actions – arguing with God about how “right” your sin really is.

The other is distazo. Here the idea is that you are stuck between two courses of action.  There are two pictures that help us see the meaning:  a man standing at a crossroads, not knowing which way to go and a balance scale, equally weighted on each side, tipping back and forth.  It means, “to hesitate, to waver, to be uncertain”.  It is not argumentative or evil.  There is no sin here.  It is just being stuck in the middle.  God help me, I don’t know which way to go!

James uses diakrino because he does not want us to think about trying to justify ourselves before God nor does he want us to think about simple hesitation.  He wants us to see that this kind of doubt is about debating what is the right selection.

We come to a crossroads as we tag along behind God.  But God is out just out of sight.  We can’t quite see which way He went.  So, we have to choose.  Right or left.  We waver (distazo).  We remember Oswald Chambers.  Stop! We fix our mind on the mind of Christ and then we feel we should go right.  We don’t argue with God about it (“You know, God, you really didn’t make it clear and besides, it looks so nice down the road on the left and I just couldn’t help it”).  We take a step to the right.  Suddenly we are besieged with doubt – the diakrino kind.  Wait!  What if this isn’t the right way?  Maybe I didn’t hear it correctly?  Maybe I should have prayed more?  How do I know I am really doing what God wants?  Maybe I need a sign?  I should open the Bible and find a verse.  But what if that doesn’t work either?  Diakrino is the doubt that stops acting on faith because it doesn’t believe that God can repair mistakes.  It believes God has only one way and if I miss it, I will never recover.  The entire universe depends on me making the right choice.  The pressure is too much.  What will I do now?

James says, “Go forward.  God is able to correct you if you are on the wrong path.  He’ll get you back on track.  But He can’t do anything until you start to move.  Just standing there debating with yourself will accomplish nothing”.

Once again Oswald Chambers reminds us that when we move forward on faith, God will simply close the doors if we are off course.  Then we can retreat and start again.  Remember, it’s God journey.  He’s in charge.  So get up and get moving.  Don’t be afraid to put your trust on Him.  He is able.

Rule number 1:  God’s in charge.

Rule number 2:  God is able.

Rule number 3:  Go forward.

Now comes the greatest blessing.

“for we walk by faith, not by sight”  2 Cor. 5:7

“now faith is the assurance of things hope for, the conviction of things not seen”  Hebrews 11:1

If we know the rules, we don’t have to know where we are going.  In fact, this is a journey of just following with our eyes wide open.  It is not “blind” faith at all.  We know God is in charge.  We know God is able.  All we have to do is go forward.  Faith is exercised on a “need to know” basis.  When you need to know, God will tell you.  Faith is realizing that you don’t need to know.  But everything is still OK, because He knows.

Our world is convinced that we have to know.  We want to know the outcome before the event.  What plans do you have for your life?  What will you become?  How will it all work out?  What if it doesn’t come out the way that I want?

Maybe we should think of our need to know like a box.  If we knew all the answers, we would be nicely packaged but we would lose the possibility for creative change.  God doesn’t tell us everything because we are in a cooperative process of creative change with Him.  Our lives are not boxed.  Faith is simply knowing that the plans are being revised along the way.  And that’s a good thing.  When I mess up, the master Architect can redraw the plans and still get the results He wants.  God’s disclaimers about life are true:  past promises do guarantee future rewards.  Past events do guarantee present and future relationships.

So, we’re left with hope and conviction.  “now faith is the assurance of things hope for, the conviction of things not seen”  Hebrews 11:1

Hope is telling yourself that what God says is true is really true.  It’s reminding yourself about rule number 1 and rule number 2.  God is in charge.  God is able.

Conviction is acting on that hope.  Rule number 3: Go forward.

Faith isn’t blind.  It’s open eyes obedience.

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National Immorality

Tuesday, March 02nd, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

Newsweek:  Law-Enforcement Officials Note Marked Nationwide Increase in Teen Prostitution

Over the last year, local and federal law-enforcement officials say they have noted a marked increase in teen prostitution in cities across the country. They are increasingly alarmed by the trend lines: the kids are getting younger; according to the FBI, the average age of a new recruit is just 13; some are as young as 9. And, while the vast majority of teen prostitutes today are runaways, illegal immigrants and children of poor urban areas, experts say a growing number now come from middle-class homes.

A nation without holiness in its heart will not survive.  History has shown over and over that great empires collapsed after declines in personal morality.  The Biblical record confirms what historians note.  My travels throughout Asia years ago demonstrated that children are only one-step along the road of moral degradation when a culture embraces values that are not based on holiness.  We are only following in the steps of our ancestors.  Unless God grips a man’s heart, no evil will be forbidden.

America’s new racism is homosexuality.  On every side, those who stand up against this practice are treated as the new bigots.  We live in a culture whose only goal is to fulfill every desire of man’s heart, a condition that is described quite well in Genesis 6:5.  Why are we surprised to find the children are being swallowed up in the storm of sexual frenzy?  Our movies portray absolute license, our music heroes and sports figures are shining examples of sexual deception, adultery and uninhibited desire.  Even the church has decided to ignore that clear descriptions of the Greek words in I Corinthians.  Plurality in moral standards is nothing more than idolatry.

A family I know found their pre-teen daughter in deep depression.  She was unable to function because her peers ridiculed her for not being sexually active at age 11.  What does such a situation say about the general moral instruction of parents?

Families that believe God’s holiness is the foundation of our behavior will be set upon with vengeance.  It has always been so.  Those who prefer the dark cannot stand the antagonism of light.  Even a child’s candle must be extinguished.

There is much to pray about these days.  Not least is the suffering of our children.  They carry a weight much too heavy for their shoulders.

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THE WHOLE ENCHILADA

Friday, February 19th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

At last, the complete edition of Today’s Word 2009 is ready for download.  The whole year is available as a Microsoft WORD file.  You can search any word or verse and print any of the 607 pages.  Please click here to download.

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Galatians Has Arrived

Saturday, February 06th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

For nearly a year, I lead a group in Winter Garden, Florida, in a study of the book of Galatians.  We went verse-by-verse, word-by-word through this crucial letter, examining the issue of law and grace from a rabbinic perspective.  Now Patrick has faithfully produced a 23 disc series of the recorded teaching from that study.

If you’ve every wondered about the place of the “law” in the writings of Paul, this is the place to start.  You will learn about the background of the letter, the techniques Paul uses to handle community issues, the way he uses the Tanakh and his resolution of the “law vs. grace” dilemma.

Enjoy.

Click here for the download page.

Galatians

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Prayer Request

Thursday, February 04th, 2010 | Author: Skip Moen

I am requesting the prayers of our community, specifically for my mom, but also for my siblings and myself. My mom has been in the hospital for four days, and she is only deteriorating. The many medical procedures required are torture for her, and this morning she asked me to call her minister and meet with her, my sister, my brothers, and myself. She indicated that she does not want to do anything God does not want, but she is in continual pain, and her 86 year-old body is giving out bit by bit. She told us a few weeks ago that she wants to go on, but that has not happened and she is suffering daily. For a few years, I have prayed that the Father would just take her in her sleep, after all she has endured, but He seems to be on His own timeline. :) Please pray for comfort for her, and an end to her suffering, and peace of mind for our family. Thank you all so much.

Name: Gayle Johnson
Email: gaylbaby@sbcglobal.net
Phone: 580-228-3414
Regarding: I have a prayer request and/or a need from the community

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