6/9/04

So, I have a few minutes to journal now and I'll try to write down what I wanted to talk about yesterday. Again, there were two things on my mind. The first is related to the sermon preached this last Sunday. The second is a question that I started thinking about after reading an acquaintance's web blog the other day. Anyway, first things first...

The text for last Sunday's sermon was taken from Hebrews chapter 12, verses 1-11. We spent most of the time focused on verses 5-11, which I will copy here for reference:

"And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: 'My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.' If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

One of the main points of the sermon was that God disciplines His children in order to train them to live fruitful lives that bring glory to Him. The point was made that discipline can be in various forms and degrees largely dependent on our receptivity to being instructed. Christians can still act the fools when they don't listen to God's instructions and fail to heed correction. They open themselves up to more severe discipline, so that they will come to understanding and learn the lesson.

This could be a possible scenario: I read my Bible and am convicted about selfishness in my marriage. I understand that God wants me to give up selfish practices in order to better love and serve Olya and bring more glory to God. But, not being willing to comply fully, I walk away and forget about the passage. Then Sunday comes along and the sermon given has the exact same message of needing to give up selfishness in marriage. I am surprised that I have heard the same corrective words twice and I nod my head in approval as the pastor speaks, but I still like doing some things my own way, maybe even deceiving myself that it doesn't matter a huge deal, and go on as usual. Later that week, a brother from church shares with me how he was struggling with his marriage, but took the sermon to heart and God is really blessing his repentance and making the marriage a lot stronger. I am convicted that I haven't acted, but am still thinking that I can slide by and be ok. A few days later, my selfishness takes Olya to the boiling point and she lashes out at me in frustration. I think it's just an "issue" she is having in her own life and am blind to the fact that God has been trying to get me to deal with my selfishness and avoid this situation. A few days later, a similar thing happens and after a huge argument, there is deadly silence between us, a lot of disillusionment, and Olya says "I feel like you are a stranger to me." I suddenly wake up to the reality that my selfishness and refusal to repent before God and deal with it has caused the situation to be so severe.

In my example, (made up, but not far from reality in one instance over the last year) God first used a soft corrective word during that first Bible reading, but eventually allowed for a marriage conflict to happen in the marriage so that I could learn that God's ways are best and that I need to submit to Him. Verse 11 of the passage makes it clear that those who are trained by the discipline will be blessed. God will cause the growth of "peaceable fruit of righteousness." The exhortation in the sermon was to not be foolish, but heed the correction of the Lord, and do so sooner to avoid severe discipline. It is much better to be convicted during personal devotions and repent then than to resist and cause need for a major event like a car accident, the loss of a job, a major conflict in a personal relationship, etc. Of course, God can allow these things to happen to us or our loved ones for other reasons than discipline, but we should never rule out the possibility that a major difficulty was allowed because we have resisted the correction of the Lord in a certain area for a while. The best thing to do is to ask God to examine your heart and ask if there be any area where you are resisting His instruction and correction. Consequently, if we are wise, we will repent of any disobedience that He reveals to us.

OK, that pretty much sums up my first topic. The second, as I mentioned earlier, is actually a question spawned by my reading of an acquaintance's blog in the past week. I met this person a few years ago and had pretty much lost track of what was going on in their life. I remembered that he had a web blog, so I decided to check it out and catch up on what was happening with him. He has actually done a great job with the blog using combinations of audio, photo, and text to log his thoughts, feelings and general life events. Still, as I read through the site, I noticed that a good deal of the content dealt not with his religious beliefs (he is a Christian and definitely not ashamed of his faith or his conservative views), but more with the things he entertains himself with. Actually, for a personal blog, that's not a big deal. If you are purposing to right about books, movies, photographs, television programs, art exhibits, etc. that inspire you or make you think or touch you in some way, that's great. However, as I looked at some of the music or movies that were mentioned or discussed, I was quite surprised at some of the selections. Honestly, I wouldn't call the selections extremely inappropriate for a Christian, but some I would think to be inappropriate or, at best, questionable.

My question is this: "What does it mean for Christians to 'come out from among them and be separate (2 Cor 6:17)'?"

Personally, I believe that there is allowance for some variation in standards amongst Christians. I can think of two different passages where Paul instructs believers to be considerate of those with 'weak' faith who might be stumbled by something that another Christian does in freedom of Spirit with a clear conscience. (Check 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 and Romans 14) However, I don't believe that the variation in standards should be too great. I think some abuse freedom and the grace of God and expose themselves to a lot of junk. Not only would it stumble others, but it is affecting them more than they realize. What's the point of watching a movie that may have a lot of funny parts, but is filled with excessive swearing? How can a Christian not be affected by that? I would worry about the Christian who doesn't have issues with it, because it means they are greatly desensitized to evil. And I don't believe that's a good thing.

A few months ago, I was talking to a friend about trends in the church. He mentioned that one trend is that many churches are being so open with accepting different ideas that they are taking in a lot of junk too. There is a tendency to be so zealous to not want to miss out on anything that discernment gets thrown out the window. A lot of doctrines get compromised and a lot of truth is twisted and distorted to the detriment of the church. I believe that God made and allows for diversity regarding worship styles, prayer methods, approaches to preaching, and any other church practice. I look at God's creation and see such a dumbfounding diversity of plants, animals, and non-living objects that I am found speechless. Because of this example with creation, I am adamantly opposed to the idea of cookie-cutter Christians. The idea is sickening. Yet, on the other hand, while we allow for great diversity, we must be diametrically opposed to the world around us. We should not look like them. The things we stand for and stand against should not flow with the river of popular opinion. We should be the fish swimming hard against the current and avoiding obstacles, not the dead leaves and branches being carried away downstream running into anything the stream directs them to.

Anyway, as I ask myself the question mentioned above and seek understanding from the Lord, I also wonder what others think. If anyone is reading this entry right now, I invite you to e-mail me and let me know your thoughts.

Hey, I made it through everything! Cool.

6/8/04

Long time, no journal. The blog seems to be a blessing and a curse. It is such a blessing because I have an easy way to capture little daily highlights and share them with friends and family (and any lost Internet surfers). It is somewhat of a "curse" in that I am left with little to say in my monthly updates and I have little desire left to do any other writing, such as this journal. Oh well. Today, I was feeling inspired to write and had actually written about two pages worth of a journal when the power suddenly went out. I am usually very obsessive-compulsive about saving all of my documents every 30-seconds, but it figures that on one of the few instances where I am totally absorbed and inspired I completely forget to save my document first. There were two things that I had written about, but I don't have anymore time tonight, so I'll try to get back to the journal in the next day or two.