Long Expected: Advent 2014

I have been waiting like a nation waits for a king.
I have been waiting like a mother for what labor brings.
I have been gripping at my chest with homesickness absurd
but I still live in my hometown! What, this sickness, could've spurred?

Akin to Israel, who, rejecting God, still waited -
expecting Him to defeat some government they hated.
They, not knowing what they needed, filled their hearts with idols,
even in waiting for kings with military titles.

I am of the same heart - hard to a defeating Savior -
because I wanted to save myself with romance or labor.
I was conquered by another force. Oh, the emptiness!
Yet, the crushing weight of ignoring the Lord's holiness.

Then came thou long expected Jesus, first as a baby -
You taught your sheep to follow you, wherever you may be.
A sweeter advent yet when you arrived to forgive me
and I will not forget the kindness of your grace and mercy!

Now we wait for your return as bare branches wait for Spring,
for they'll be full of life again as when we see our King.
In your past advents we rest; For your next advent we hold,
where we will bow at your feet and your glory we'll behold.

Shadows: Advent 2014

The Sun rises, the Sun sets,

and Night's fingers grip Earth.

In the Moon, we won't forget:

the Sun is set for rebirth.

As the Earth is frozen down

to the depths, trees pass away -

Yet our brother Spring comes 'round

like the start of a new day.

Even as a child is born

to show life can be made,

that we may not be forlorn

having seen such might displayed.

All to prepare us for Light

that casts these simple shadows

of gripping Death born to Life -

soon they will seem so shallow.

I take great joy in Winter,

who taught to rightly love Spring,

and these shadows that whisper

of the rebirth Christ will bring. 

Being a Christian Always Looks Similar

Lately, a Relevant Magazine article has been making its rounds through my social media circles. The article, titled Being a Christian Doesn't Always Look Like You Think It Should, lays out an argument for why we need to allow room for grace in each other's lives. It may look different when Bob is saved than when Alice is saved. A relevant (pun intended) example in the article is Shia Labeouf's recent proclamation of faith. The statement in which he said he was saved, he let two expletives fly. It's a good article and I encourage you to read it. But I encourage you not to take from it what many have.

Many people have read this article and thought "this is a great reason why I should never comment on someone's sin or ever let anyone comment on mine! Who are they to say if I'm sinning?" Or, as one commenter put it: 

There is nothing worse to me than human beings deciding what a sin is and who's doing it. As you said, that's God's territory! We should never be in the place to judge someone else or to tell them they're sinning.

 To gather this understanding is to gather the wrong one. Dr. Preston Sprinkle did not say that sinning is fine and only between you and God. He said how someone is sanctified (changed to look more like Christ, perfected) will look different for everyone.

In the interest of fairness to Dr. Sprinkle, I contacted him. I summed up these responses and asked "do you mean to say no Christian should comment or correct on another Christian's sin, no matter the circumstance?" His response was encouraging (highlighting is my own):

I absolutely do not think that a believer should never correct another believer. To NOT correct would be unloving. 

For what it's worth, the article summed up a chapter I wrote in my book, Charis: God's Scandalous Grace for Us. In that book I talk about the relationship between grace and obedience. I believe a true believer will obey. Otherwise, he's not a true believer. 

The article was simply trying to show that what this looks like will look different for different people... 

 Dr. Sprinkle rightly lays out some of the ways a Christian will always look the same. Christians, if they are loving, will correct their brother and sister when they are in sin. Christians will obey while resting in grace.

We see both of these concepts in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, Paul specifies that we are to judge the church and, in fact, purge evil from among us. Jesus, the guy many people pin as the poster boy of not judging, gave us clear instructions in Matthew 18:15-20 to confront our brother in sin, first in private, then more publicly to help him understand what he's doing is serious.

Why do we do this? Because Christians are to obey God our Father. This concept is nuanced, and is well beyond the scope of a blog or an amateur as myself. I encourage you to find a sound Biblical teacher to show you more about this. We can see it briefly in 1 John 3:4-10. This is very difficult language to hear, is it not? I quite often still sin. Am I to understand I am not a Christian? I think the obvious answer is no, both from other scriptures discussing confession of sin (how am I supposed to confess something that I never do?) and observation. Again, I encourage you to discuss this with a pastor or leader who is strong in the faith.

It is clear, from Dr. Sprinkle's response and the Bible itself, that we are not supposed to allow our brothers and sisters to continue in sin. We should follow Jesus' model and confront them privately about it first, in hopes of gaining our brother. But we must understand that Christ's perfecting and sanctifying of his Church will look different person to person. Help them and do not think it strange if they have more trouble with a particular sin than you.

In Light of the Trees

I don't own much gold but I've seen a field, a forest of it.

It isn't mine but it's as if it's been given to me

so I might feel rich enough that I will not covet.

But you know that I do, in light of the trees.

The dresses of the fields, as they prepare to wed,

the birds of the air, as they look for food and feast,

confused by man, as he sleeps and complains of his bed.

For we are covetous, not thankful in the least.

But we mustn't forget who gave us all our wealth

or Jealousy and Desire will lead us to our death,

for they are wicked mistresses. But they don't need stealth;

One grabs my hand, one my filthy heart, saying "we know best."

No. I will find wealth in riches that were never mine.

I'll find shame in my money, disgrace in my stock.

When I sleep and I am examined, may the Lord find

in my vault, my heart: the Savior, the Lamb, Eternal Rock.

The Importance of Doctrine

I am being discipled/mentored by a great man from my church. I could write a whole post about men who have inspired me, but that's not what I plan to do now. My point in bringing him up is that he suggested we start memorizing 1 Timothy. At 24, I still consider myself a young person in the church and akin to Timothy in that way. We are four verses in and I already have marveled at what God's word has for us, then and today.

It is easy to get distracted from what we must focus on. The good doctrines that Christ himself and the early disciples have taught. Even in the wake of Christ Jesus' death and resurrection, people wanted to distract from his doctrines. As Paul instructs Timothy:

 "... charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith."  

(1 Timothy 1:3b-4 ESV)

We see that so early in the Church's history and today, people were teaching different doctrines, myths, and other distractions. We see the danger of doing such things. We see the reason we should trust the original doctrine.

Is it not interesting how it seems that human nature never changes? The same issues Timothy had to deal with at Ephesus are the same issues we may deal with today. Many have tried to distract themselves and others with theories and conspiracies as to the way the world or God works. We try to divert ourselves with teachings contrary to, or outside of the Bible, theories of angels, demons, and heavenly creatures, and conspiracies of where Jesus' bloodline really came from. This is the same today as it was in Timothy's day.

Paul tells his true son in the faith that these practices will only lead to speculation. There is no firm evidence in them and they cannot be trusted! I think it is obvious what can happen when our faith is in something that is not solid. Anyone who has been saved by Christ's sacrifice has already experienced this. Our faith went from something weak and failing (ourselves, others, money, idols, etc) to something strong and unwavering (Christ Jesus, our hope). Why would we wonder from this rock to other unfounded claims? It truly is foolishness.

This is the reason we should trust the original doctrines: they have been given to us by God as a solid place to stand. He has given us this stewardship of the good doctrines to rely on and profess. We ought not be distracted by preachers telling us that we must exhibit X gift to be saved, distract ourselves with theories outside of Biblical text, or focus on bloodlines to find some new hidden truth. We have been given the Gospel: We are wicked sinners who need a savior, namely Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose again to pay our debts to a perfect God. This is the important doctrine, the good doctrine, that we must not be distracted from.

How sweet and important this truth is. Paul's warning to Timothy still stands to us today. Charge the church to not get distracted from the Gospel.

Reflections on a Year of Marriage

This past Sunday, my wife and I celebrated a year of marriage together.  I've made jokes (in poor taste) about how I might keep her around for another year. But honestly, the statistic that 50% of marriages end in divorce scares me. I know I am not the best husband and that many things I do frustrate my wife. I lack patience and I am easily frustrated by things she does with no intention to frustrate me. Really, I am afraid of myself because I know I am capable of ruining any relationship I am part of. That's my sin nature. A recent conversation with my co-workers left me to consider this in a different light, however.

We were discussing my anniversary trip with my wife and my fear of heights. We did some hiking at Devil's Lake as part of our trip. This hiking took us up on bluffs that overlook the lake, providing beautiful views and a great opportunity to wonder at God's creation. I am terribly scared of heights, though: A ladder freaks me out. So getting too close to the edge of these bluffs scared me quite a bit. I was telling my co-workers how she tried to get too close, for my comfort, to the edge of a particular rock and I asked her not to. My wife, being the considerate woman she is, obliged.

It was this story that confused one of my co-workers. Why did she have to do what I asked of her, if going to the edge of the rock made her happy? Why should my comfort be above her desire to reach the edge of the rock and look out onto the gorgeous lake? And he makes a good point. I should not demand my wife follow my wishes for comfort when it gets in the way of her happiness, as long as she is safe and righteous in doing so. So was she wrong to listen to my concern?

My job as a husband is to hear my wife's wishes and concerns and act accordingly. My wife showed this perfectly when she backed away from the edge; She sacrificed her happiness for my comfort. This should always be our focus.

The Bible is full of calls for us to die to ourselves as Christ died on the cross (Galatians 2:20, Luke 9:23, etc.). How this looks in my marriage is putting my wife's needs ahead of my own. If I am to love my wife like Christ loves the church, I am to give myself and my needs up for her (Ephesians 5:25). For example, if I want to confront someone in public about their behavior but my wife asks me not to, I should give up my desire to make someone uncomfortable and myself happy for the sake of her desire.

This is something I knew, but not something I realized God was forming in me. When I think about it, I give up my desire for my wife's needs a lot more than I would want to. In fact, after explaining this a little to my co-workers, they were still confused or thought it rare. I really have no one to credit this to other than Christ and his work in me. If it were up to my desires, my wife would be here to serve me, not the other way around. I praise God he has already changed that as much as he has and I pray this sanctification continues to happen.

That Autumn Evening, That Summer Afternoon

Bring me to that autumn evening,

surrounded by people I didn't know,

masking my nervous feelings

with extroversion following in tow.

The chance to meet that pretty girl.

I'm not sure I said I had a "type"

but how her lips revealed those pearls,

skinny jeans, dark haired swoop. This felt right.

Don't bring me to those winter months

when her heart beat somewhere else

while mine left my chest to follow it. To hunt

in vain, its veins dragging behind itself.

Show me only when she corrected herself:

I mean my ex-boyfriend.

Like for a moment Spring forgot himself

and didn't wait for Winter to end.

Bring me to that spring evening.

I can't believe how gorgeous she is.

Masking my nervous feelings

with wit and prayers to grant this wish.

I still remember how at home I felt

on that uncomfortable sofa

in a strange living room. But I held

her with "forever" - a lasting aroma.

Bring me to that summer afternoon

and I've never been more nervous before.

Colored panes bounce off white dress. The room

disappears; Her tide of beauty takes the shore.

But bring me back here, a year from that summer

and let me live, lips lock and hearts take room

in each others' chest. One flesh - one Drummer

for both beats. Leave me here to be her groom.

---

This is a poem I wrote for my wife for our one-year wedding anniversary.  Please enjoy.