Going "Too Far" As The Bride of Christ

I had an idea this morning but thought it was not worth blogging about, at least until my friend Yvonne dared me to post something that she couldn't agree with!

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There is an increased pursuit in the Church towards intimacy with Jesus. Drawing it's language and passionate expression largely from the Song of Songs, it paints a picture of us being the Bride of Christ. That Jesus is the lover of our soul and that we are created to have both intimacy and ecstacy in our relationship with him.

I am a true believer in this pursuit and have been engaged in it for many years. However, this morning I had a question raised in my mind...

If as Christians we believe that sexual intimacy is to be experienced solely within the covenant of marriage, and that pre-maritial sex is not God's 'best' for us, how far should we pursue intimacy with the Bride Groom prior to our eternal wedding?

Can we in fact go 'too far' in our relationship too early? Are people like Mike Bickle leading us into a spiritual Vegas where anything is permissible? (and yet not beneficial!)

The Difference Between Is and As

Have you ever heard people talk about "Life as Worship" - the understanding that everything we do is an act of worship towards God? I was thinking about that statement today and wanted to make a very simple, yet critical, observation.

There is a HUGE difference between "Life AS Worship" and "Life IS Worship".

Unfortunately many of us have mistaken IS for AS and are living our lives under the false impression that everything we do IS worship - simply because we are Christians! Now it is true that everything we do CAN be worship, but that doesn't mean that everything we do IS worship!

Let me explain.

Just because...
...I'm in a room with Christians doesn't mean we're worshiping
...there is a song in my heart doesn't mean I am worshiping
...I'm on a hike doesn't mean I've worshiped the God of Creation
...I feel warm fuzzies from a song doesn't mean I'm worshiping
...I went to church this week...

You get the point! In order for our lives to BE worship, we must DO worship.

We must do more than simply engage in activity, we must be engaged in the very activity that God calls us to, in the way that he calls to do it and then do it out of a heart that credits Him with the glory! Worship is our response to who God is, and we can not respond to Him without having an interaction WITH Him. (Just like being around my wife doesn't communicate to her how much I love and appreciate her! If it did, I wouldn't have a need to write her notes, buy her thougthful gifts, hug her, kiss her and shower affection on her!)

I don't say this to strike fear in our hearts, I simply want to raise this question:

Are we assuming our life IS worship, or are we engaging our lives AS worship?

I'd love your thoughts!

Overcoming the Easy Button

Have you ever been at the end of your rope and cried out to God for relief? I did last night as I desperately tried to get my daughter to stop crying and finally go to bed (hours after both of our bed times!). Now this is isn't the first time I have prayed that God would bring peace to my crying child, or that I have begged Him to grant me sleep, but this time was different.

As I began to formulate my prayer in my mind I felt God's gentle nudge, a nudge that I hope will change my life. So what was so profound that I hope it changes my life? It was the revelation that as a person who has the Holy Spirit living inside of me my nature has been changed from an under-achiever into an over comer!

The nature of an under-achiever is one who consistently asks for the bar to be lowered in order to accommodate their shortcomings, or unwillingness to do anything. But as a Christian, my nature has been changed to an over comer - one who rises above the situation through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of me. The Christian life is not about using the power of God as a cosmic 'Easy Button', it is about displaying God's mighty power to save, in spite of our weakness, by surrendering ourselves to the work of His Spirit.

So instead of always asking for God to remove my problems (crying baby!) I was challenged to ask that God would fill me with peace, patience, long-suffering, perseverance, love and compassion for my child - all of which are fruits of the spirit! All of which are things that enable us to overcome otherwise difficult situations. It is that same power that allows us to rejoice in our sufferings and bless those who persecute us.

I wonder how many more of my prayers will be answered now?

So here's to being the over comer's that God has empowered us to be... It's really that easy!

Life is A Gift - Part 2

A few weeks ago I blogged a quote that read - "Life is a gift, not an accumulation of coincidences." This is a continuation of that idea.

Last night a friend of mine shared how God was revealing to him the truth that each day is a gift. That it was prepared for him by God and that he need not worry about tomorrow. As he shared I was brought back to my thought about life being a gift and not simply an accumulation of coincidences. As we began to talk, I did a bit of scientific thinking. What would it take for an event to be completely a coincidence? Something that God would have had no part in orchestrating.

My conclusion was that in order for something to be a pure coincidence, it would have to be a part of a chain of events that could be traced back to the beginning of humanity without having had any contact with a God ordained moment, person or event. That the situation would have had no external influence other than complete random events.

Not one person who had prayed.
Not one person who was a believer in Christ.
Not one interaction with the Bible
The Church, Christianity, Judaism, Easter, Christmas, Creation....Creation?!

That's impossible! The simple fact that God created the heavens and the earth means that at some point he has had an impact on the situation that I am presently involved in! If he set things in motion then he has touched them, affected them!

I believe that God has done way more then simply 'affected' my situation, I believe that He has prepared it. Designed it! But the next time you think that your day is simply an accumulation of random events, I invite you to put my theory to the test.

Today is the day of our salvation!

Your Way, Right Away

I while back there was a fast food chain that had the slogan "Your Way, Right Away". The premise being that you don't have to eat your burger the way some guy in the corporate kitchen designed it, you could have it exactly the way you want it - and you could have it your way at a moments notice!

We have a North American mind-set that caters to the individual - this beautiful pursuit of our independence. It is founded on the truth that each of us is unique. We each have our own way of seeing the world, our own likes and dislikes, as well as our individual talents, passions and experiences. In fact, we now have schools, jobs and a service industry that take personal learning, working and consumption styles into consideration. It is all customizable to suit your personal needs. (Even our blogs!). We have become a "Your Way, Right Away" nation.

So what happens when this nation enters into a conversation with the God of the Universe? When people who can have what they want, how they want it, when they want it begin relating to a God who says: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." - Isaiah 48:17? I believe we enter into a question of who knows best!

Most of us would probably object and say that God really does have the last word when it comes to how we live our lives. But let me ask this question. How many times have I used my personal uniqueness as a reason for why God is pleased with me even if I do it my way? Or to put it another way - God sees my heart, so what I'm doing isn't as important as why I'm doing it.

Before moving, our previous church had an annual 30-day corporate fast. It was a great time of joining together as a community to seek God's face as we entered into a new calendar year. For the most part I loved the idea but there were two problems for me.

The first was the fact that I was born with a crazy digestive system. A digestive system that resulted in bowel surgery my first year of high school, forcing me to watch my diet over the past 20 years.

The second problem was that I hated fasting! And so, when fast time would come around each year I would be faced with the question - "Am I going to do it?".

Each year I concluded that it wasn't healthy for me to abstain from food for a whole month (irregardless of how powerful I believed God was) - so I would choose an alternative type of fast, and every year I would decide that a media fast was a good choice. Why a media fast? Probably because it was nearing the end of NFL football season and I had spent every Sunday for the past 17 weeks glued to my TV set. But it was also because there really isn't anything worth watching on TV other than football! I thought it was mostly trash and that was exactly what I thought I could do without if I was going to spend an entire month searching out the will of God.

So what happened? Each year I would feel great coming out of the fast. My mind felt clearer, my heart felt purer, and for the most part I felt better about myself. Here's the stupid thing - I don't think I once entered into a significant time of prayer during any of the fasts that I 'participated' in. I just simply kept doing whatever I felt like doing it, when I felt like doing it (except for watching TV).

So today as I was reflecting on some of the pseudo fasting I have done I was reminded of something a man who loves prayer said - When you fast you need to abstain from food. Don't do a media fast, it's not the kind of fast God prescribes for us. If we are going to enter into God's work we have to do it God's way.

I believe it is the way that many of us approach our service towards God. We think that as long as we have the right heart it doesn't matter what we do. We can worship the way we want, with the expressions that suit our likes and dislikes and we effectively sideline any activity that might cause us some pain or discomfort by saying something to the effect of "God's a God of grace - He'll understand".

I don't need to
actually bow before him
actually touch the poor
actually abstain from food
actually confess with my mouth

In the end we are left wondering why our worship doesn't draw us closer, why our hearts don't become softer, why our prayers remain unanswered and why we just can't seem to overcome our sinful desires. I believe it is because we have tried to do God's work our way - hiding behind a lie that says as long as I have the right heart I don't need to do it the way God asked me to.

Isaiah 48:17-18 says:

"I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.

If only you had paid attention to my commands,
your peace would have been like a river,
your righteousness like the waves of the sea."

If we are going to become the kind of people that God is looking for I believe with all of my heart that we must learn to take God at his word - trusting Him when He says I know 'what's best for you." We must stand up against the spirit of this age that says we can have God's will, Our way.

Faster Turn-Around Times Lead To Unparalleled Growth

Have you ever hurt someone, causing a rift in your relationship, and then found yourself thinking that a few days without contact would be good before mending the relationship? Most of the time we do it emotionally/relationally (limiting conversation) but occasionally we feel the need for physical separation in order to 'maintain the peace'. I think we've all done it, in fact, I believe it is one of the most common responses of the human race. The belief that time heals all wounds, separation defuses hostility and it's duration is somehow a measure of how 'deep' we are experiencing the pain/consequences of what we've done.

In some circles they would call this penance, but for most of us it has simply become a way to deal with our own brokenness and shortcomings.

So last week I put myself in one of these situations, disappointing myself, my wife and putting an obstacle in the way of my intimacy with God. In the past I would have typically waited an 'appropriate' amount of time before dealing with my brokenness, asking for forgiveness and pursuing deep relationship with God again. However, I've been in a season of renewed intimacy with God in which I've encountered intense times of worship, prayer and an insatiable hunger for the Bible - a hunger so strong that this time I couldn't wait. I wanted to get back to that place, and it needed to be a lot sooner then later!

So, in uncommon fashion, I took immediate steps to confess my sin, ask for forgiveness and had the opportunity to immediately engaged in an extended time of prayer and worship in the form of my weekly intercession group. The result was amazing! My relationship with my wife hardly skipped a beat, my loathing and self-abuse for being so stupid was rendered powerless and God showed His true colors by embracing me (as always) in full-faced grace during our intercession time! There was no waiting period, no 'being put on hold', no extended recovery time. God's forgiveness and embrace was immediate.

Then I had a conversation with a friend of mine who had experienced a similar brokenness that same week. He too comes to our weekly prayer/worship gathering, but contrary to my experience, had felt disconnected and unable to engage in anything other than an internal conversation along the lines of "I'm so sorry. Why do I keep doing this?". He went on to tell me that the entire week he had been down about his foolish compromise, but didn't feel like he could restore that God relationship just yet. He had entered into a time of self-imposed penance. Choosing to believe, as we all seem to do, that unless we 'feel' the immensity of our sin we can't truly be repentant. What I would call the 'sack-cloth and ashes' phase of our forgiveness.

As we continued to talk and share our stories I began having a revelation about my response to my sinful behavior. This was my thought - If I impose upon myself a time of separation, a mourning period for my sin, then I am essentially believing in a forgiveness based on works. That I MUST do something to show that I am sorry. I will PROVE that I have grasped the magnitude of my actions and by entering into the penance of separation.

So now, instead of having a sin (common to us all) that needs confession/restoration, I have taken upon myself the work of saving my own soul! I am functioning as though I believe I can achieve/merit God's grace through work! The result is that instead of "stumbling" in my walk towards holiness, I have successfully dug, and fallen into, a big hole that I must be rescued out of. It is a pit marked "Salvation Through Works Apart From Christ". (Along with a big WARNING sign beside it!)

Now some might be thinking, but isn't it good for us to understand how our sin hurts God (and others), and that the separation process for the sake of grappling with the depth of our sin is a worthwhile endeavor. (After all, we want our confession to be sincere) Well this is what I have experienced - the best way for me to understand the depth of my sin, to have true repentance, is to place myself in the presence of a pure and holy God. Suddenly my sin, and the impact it has on my relationships and my character, comes into full view - producing in me a deep longing for purity and confession - the source of true repentance. And so it isn't in running from God that I find myself, it is in running to Him that I find out who I am and how I am to live! (Ephesians 1:11)(MSG)

It caused me to come to a few conclusions:

1) Self-Imposed separation from God is not an act of righteousness but of self-righteousness - When I separate myself I am placing a requirement on my restoration. A requirement that puts me under judgment, requiring the penalty to be paid. A penalty that has already been paid by Christ! I have stepped outside of Justification By Faith (by grace, through faith in Christ alone) and taken a hold of Righteousness By Works.

I have denied the power of the Cross of Christ and once again taken it upon myself to earn my salvation.

2) Darkness is void of enlightenment - But Light exposes truth, and the Truth sets us free! - When I wallow in the shadow of my sin, I am allowing it to put down roots into my soul and character. It is allowed to define me, restricting me from encountering the life giving presence of Jesus. I become spiritually imprisoned, acting as one who has not been set free from sin, death and punishment. (I am not actually re-imprisoned by sin, but I'm living as though I am a captive. Choosing to ignore my pardon and the truth that the door to freedom is wide open!). I will not discover repentance in this place, only condemnation and guilt. (And since there is no condemnation for those in Christ this is obviously not a good place to function out of.)

But in the light of God's love, mercy and compassion I get to see my sin for what it really is, while enjoying full forgiveness through Christ which leads to thanksgiving and praise. It transforms me from being a down-trodden sinner into a joyful worshiper whose heart is full of gratitude (and free from guilt and shame).

I believe that this mindset is prevalent in all of us. That it is a major contributor to spiritual mediocrity and immaturity - effectively robbing us of deep joy and gratitude for the gift of Christ's cross.

I also believe that if we became quick to confess our sin that God would do just as he says, that he would be faithful to forgive us, heal us and transform us into a praising and glorious people. That we would reclaim days, months and for some even years worth of time lost by an un-required, self-imposed type of separation from God. Time that He would love to have spent with us in His glorious presence and favour. Time needed for our maturation and growth as followers of Jesus.


So here's to faster turn-around times that lead to paralleled growth!

The Saving Power of Addiction

"Better an appetite for destruction then to hunger for nothing!"

I find it interesting that we have such a negative view of people with addictions. We often look at them as being 'broken' or 'incomplete' - and why? Because they have directed their hunger towards something that has taken control of their body, mind and will? Are they 'broken' because they allowed themselves to listen to the hunger deep within their spirits? The part of their soul that graves a deeper more fulfilled life! I think we may have it backwards. I think that people with addictions are far more alive then many of us are. They have an advantage on us! Sure, maybe not in the fact that their lives look like a big mess, their struggling to make ends meet and on the verge of losing their health, but they have something that many of us do not - they recognize that they want more! They are searching for a deeper more meaningful existence and they will do anything to experience it!!

Last year we did a series at our Church called "Pure Sex". One of my favourite messages was entitled "Directile Misfunction". It focused us on the reality that many of the sexual addictions we have in our culture today stem from our deep need to experience love, affection and intimacy. All things that God longs to share with us! However, we often misdirect that hunger towards things that we think will satisfy our cravings but they leave us feeling used and empty.

A quote used during the series was from G.K. Chesteton - "Every man who knocks on the door of a brothel is looking for God." It was a great image of the truth behind many of our longings - our longing to experience the transcendent life. The abundant life of Christ!

Now as a young man growing up in the church, I was surrounded by a way of thinking that said I should 'put those things to death'. Pray that God would remove your desire for carnal things! I was surrounded by well meaning religious people who communicated that we should RUN from our unbridled passion. And what happened? Most of us ended up suffocating the soul inside of us. The very thing that was intended to lead us into life was put to death! The result (at least in my experience) has been a generation of people who are passionless, lifeless and have lost their hunger for just about everything!

But a funny, and redemptive, thing has been happening in my life over the past number of years. God is continually bringing me into relationship with people who have addictive tendencies. People with deep cravings/passions that have taken over a good portion of their life. They are being led by their hunger. Some of them crave affection and physical intimacy, others crave acceptance and still others crave the comfort brought on by food. Each of us has recognized that we have a longing deep within us that not only wants to be met, but NEEDS to be met.

But here's the best part! We are learning together that our appetites are not only good at destroying our lives, they are great for driving us into the presence of God! The very hunger that burns out of control in us, the hunger that runs after gross unhealthy manifestations is being turned towards God. It is fueling our worship, our prayer and passionate living for Christ. And we are having our diets changed. Our pallets changed! As we eat of the good things that God has for us we are losing our appetite for destruction and developing a new appetite for everything good and true. We are learning in a very practical way that our appetite does not have to be reduced, or governed - it simply needs to be redirected into life!

It is causing me to lament the passionless generation that I see all around me. People who have been challenged to put their very life to death for fear of being enslaved by sin and compromise. People who's fear of uncontrolled lust has rid them of their ability to experience God as the lover of their souls.

Today my heart goes out to the passionless Bride of Christ who has lost her hunger and wastes away in a life of spiritual anorexia. God would you awaken our hunger! Would you satisfy our souls!

Passionate Anonymity

Have you ever had an idea or revelation that you thought would change the world? A conviction that gripped you deeply? And have you ever dismissed that conviction because of your seemingly limited influence or position to propagate that conviction?

If you're like me then I'm sure you are greatly influenced by outcomes. If something isn't going to have an impact then I am not very inclined to do it. If nobody is listening why bother speaking? As a blogger I often rate my posts by how many people have viewed these pages in a week, or by the number of comments posted. (And usually that isn't very many!) But today I got to thinking - if something is truly worth doing why should it matter how many people share in my so-called enlightenment?

If nobody gives me a promotion. If I never receive recognition for my 'work'. If the only thing that changes in the process is me, will it be enough? If something is truly worth doing, shouldn't it be worth doing in complete anonymity? Is it's value found in the size of the audience? In how much it is 'consumed'? (North American culture would probably tell us that public consumption is the best marker we have). I would say that a truly 'good' thing will be good irregardless of who's listening or watching or following!

And still I am greatly influenced by how my thoughts and actions are embraced by those around me. It calls my motives into question, my reasons for living out my convictions. In the past my motives have often been incredibly selfish - doing things for the improvement of others, for a change in a system or organization that I have no control over (or any right to demand change from) and in the end, the result is that I have grown jaded by the lack of movement. That doesn't mean I don't sincerely long for good things for those around me, but is that my major reason for doing it?

I must ask myself - "What is the point of 'going it alone'"? Can I choose to live out my convictions simply for the goodness of my own life? Without need for recognition? Without a need for anyone else to join my revolution? If I can, then I believe I will encounter some wonderful things.

1) A full live guided by a sense of deep conviction and passion.
2) A freedom from the expectations of others.

I will be able to live passionately free, and for no other reason than I believe in the life I am called to live! It will be the life that God has called me into! (That is not to say that God doesn't want others to encounter the exact same freedom or revelation - but that I must simply live out of the revelation I have received and allow others to live out of their own.)

So here's to having deep convictions and learning how to live in passionate anonymity!