“We speak where the Bible speaks, and are silent where the Bible is silent.” ~ unofficial motto of (most) churches of Christ.

“Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff – and nudge me when I’ve said enough!” ~ prayer of the probably mythical old preacher

“If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.” ~ 1 Peter 4:11a

Isn’t this one of the heaviest burdens carried by those who truly desire to speak for the Lord? Whether preaching, teaching, writing a blog, or just conversing about matters religious with a friend?

How do we know when we’ve stopped speaking for Him and started rattling off our own perceptions about what He’s said?

Isn’t it pretty important to stick to what He’s said?

And after all, aren’t there plenty of powerful speakers with advanced degrees in biblical studies who don’t agree on what He’s said?

I wonder from time to time if this doubt isn’t one of the most powerful tools Satan has in shutting us up about the Savior. I wonder if it’s one of the un-discussed root causes for preacher burnout and parishoner abandonment of evangelism.

I wonder if we’ve made the gospel more complex than it is.

Would you like to know what gives me hope when I try to write or speak on the Lord’s behalf – however imperfectly, humbly, and haltingly?

“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” ~ 1 Corinthians 12:3

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: ‘Rulers and elders of the people!'” ~ Acts 4:8

” … for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” ~ Matthew 10:20

The Spirit of our Father speaks through us. We just leave it to Him. It happened just as Jesus described it to His followers. And Paul writes to Corinth that it still works that way. It’s a simple message (“Jesus is Lord!”), delivered in a simple manner, through simple people like you and me. No advanced degrees required; just the Holy Spirit speaking through us.

And all we need do is ask for His help.

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” ~ Luke 11:13

You can even ask for that help to be given to others:

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” ~ Ephesians 1:17

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” ~ Colossians 1:9

I have resolved to take a new approach when disagreeing with others about scripture, or when trying to argue toward a common understanding of God’s message, or whenever I feel compelled to speak for God. I’ve resolved to pray for the Holy Spirit’s discernment for all parties involved, including (especially!) myself.

I can be as opinionated and pig-headed and closed-minded as anyone else I know. I need to be more open-minded … no; not so much that my brains fall out, but so much that His Spirit can fall upon me. I need to make room for God’s understanding, even if it pushes my understanding out through my nose and ears.

So I’m asking you to pray the same thing for me.

We avoid them like the plague, don’t we?

Which makes me wonder if there are Restoration Movement Christians who have been baptized by immersion, but have never really asked Jesus into their hearts … because that was some other fellowship’s phrase.

Of course, it’s also Paul’s phrase (Ephesians 3:17), and what Jesus encourages us to do (Luke 11:13).

And I wonder if there are Christians who have asked Jesus into their hearts, but have never been immersed into His life – as well as His death, burial and resurrection in baptism.

Those are phrases of Paul, too (Romans 6:1-6).

I wonder, also, if there are those who are saved, but have never heard a heavenly calling to a holy life; to God’s purpose (2 Timothy 1:9; Ephesians 4:1; Hebrews 3:1; 2 Peter 1:10) – because those phrases just aren’t in their vocabulary.

I have to wonder if there are followers of Christ who wouldn’t know what to do if a word from the Lord came to them (Jeremiah 37:17; 1 Samuel 15:10), or felt a burden God had laid on them (Ecclesiastes 3:10; Matthew 11:30), or were moved to participate in a sinner’s prayer (James 5:15-16) – for the reason that these phrases just aren’t written in their book.

Or they are written there, but they haven’t seen them for what they are.

I wonder if the proprietary phrases indicate our willingness to see and follow only part of God’s entire purpose for us; if they betray our unwillingness to see and be blessed by a whole gospel and a full fellowship. I wonder if these shibboleths serve to separate us, keep us apart, prevent the blessing of unity in the Spirit and the bond of peace between Christians who each adhere to his/her own distinct doctrines and subcultures and groups and sects and cliques and lingo and phrases.

Most of all, I wonder if I’m one of them.

Hat tip to Phil Wilson who tipped me off via Facebook this morning to this Boston Globe online article, “How Facts Backfire”:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/?page=full

The research described by the article confirms what most of us have suspected, I think, for a long time: that facts don’t persuade us. We accept the facts which support what we want to believe, and ignore or distort reported facts in order to conform with what we want to believe. And some of us – who have reached a really deep level of dishonesty with self – misreport or lie, inventing items which we portray as factual.

These ways we deal with facts affect the way we vote, the studies show – which does not bode well for our country.

More than than that, they affect the way we handle our businesses, our interactions with others, our lives and – you know it’s true – our faith.

It’s not a new phenomenon. Jesus had to refute it in Matthew 12:22-45, where Pharisees reinterpreted the fact that He had just exorcised a demon from a man who regained his sight and speech by saying: “It is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.” They didn’t try to controvert the obvious fact that a demon had been exorcised. They just “put a spin” on it that conformed with what they wanted to believe about Jesus.

His response included some of the straightest talk ever about a house divided against itself, and the consequences of blaspheming the Holy Spirit – which I believe to include crediting the wondrous, beneficial and miraculous acts of the Spirit to Satan and his minions; in essence, calling His good “evil.” He calls it an eternal sin “which will not be forgiven.”

(Let’s remember that, the next time we’re thinking about bad-mouthing someone who claims to have an extraordinary experience and can’t help but wonder if it was God’s touch in their lives, shall we?)

Our resistance to facts which challenge our beliefs is bad news – not those facts themselves. In a society which largely no longer knows the difference between a fact and a premise, cannot distinguish inductive from deductive logic or exhorted knowledge from experiential knowledge from empirical knowledge, knows little to nothing about logical fallacies, has little regard for the balance of passion with reason – this can be disastrous news.

What bothers me as much as anything else – or more – is that I occasionally catch myself resisting the facts.

And that I should probably be catching myself more frequently when I do it.

I didn’t realize that The Andy Griffith Show had impacted my subconscious so deeply until I woke up this morning and remembered dreaming about ol’ Andy Taylor sharing a story with Opie’s class after school:

“I do enjoy fishing. And most of you have heard stories about big fish. But I want to tell you about the smallest one. He’s a striped bass, and I named him ‘Ernest T.’ after an acquaintance of mine, because he is not only the smallest fish in all the lakes between Mayberry and Mount Pilot, he’s the orneriest. He dashes for the bait on the hook before all of the other fish. He has a real ambition to get caught, and I’ve obliged him about a dozen times. I’ve always thrown him back, though, until this morning. This morning I couldn’t deny him any longer. I caught him and kept him and cooked him and enjoyed him for breakfast. They wasn’t much of him, but that fish was delicious. I s’pose if they’s any moral to this story, I guess it’s that sometimes when you oblige other folks in their ambitions, it turns out better for you than it does for them. And, of course, you should choose your ambitions wisely.”

I don’t remember whether I dreamed in black-and-white.

It’s a line from a Star Trek movie. (Big surprise, huh?)

Specifically, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, when Captain Spock’s meditations are interrupted by his C.O., Admiral Kirk – who is apologetically pulling rank to divert Spock’s ship to a crisis. Spock insists that he assume command. Kirk declines. Spock replies:

“If I may be so bold, it was a mistake for you to accept promotion. Commanding a starship is your first, best destiny; anything else is a waste of material.”

We all need – and deserve – a friend who will be painfully honest with us; who will point out to us our possible lapses in judgment – even our career choices – and be confident that the friendship will survive it.

We all need friends who are familiar enough with human courtesy to introduce their opinions with “If I may be so bold …” Even if there is no difference in rank, or race, or blood, or belief. Or if there’s a world of difference.

And we all need to be such friends to others.

What might happen if we as believers in Christ gently confronted some of our friends with a mildly-stated opinion, like:

“If I may be so bold, you seem restless; unsatisfied in your career choice ….” “… your current relationship ….” “… your spirituality ….” ?

Or asked, “Do you ever feel called to a life that is more than what you’re living now?”

Or went for broke and said, “Have I ever told you that I care about your soul as deeply as if it were my very own?”

Or even went further and admitted, “I think the choice(s) you’ve made are mistaken, taking you somewhere you may not really want to go.”

I know; I know. That’s meddling. But that’s what we’re called to do: Meddle. Not judge people, but judge their actions. Not love all their actions, but love people. We get that so mixed up sometimes.

– If I may be so bold as to point it out.

Not too many months ago, I encountered a commenter on another blog who expressed doubt that Jesus’ promise of His Holy Spirit in John 14-17 was meant for anyone but His gathered disciples then and there in the upper room.

He believed the promise was not meant for us, in other words; that the Spirit of truth would counsel and comfort us; remind us of everything He has said; bring us peace; testify of Jesus in our time; or guide us into all truth.

Just them.

Just then.

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” ~ Acts 2:38-39

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:21-22 … And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ~ Ephesians 1:13 … And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ~ Ephesians 4:3

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. ~ 2 Corinthians 13:14 … For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:13

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:13 … he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ~ Titus 3:5

And what about the whole of Romans 8? 1 Corinthians 12? Galatians 3, 4 and 5?

How could anyone read these verses, become familiar with them, know them backwards and forwards and maybe even in Greek, and still wonder whether Jesus was speaking to us about the gift of His very own, indwelling Holy Spirit?

Or believe that He would live within us only as a seal, performing no other work in us or through us to glorify God and draw ourselves and others closer to Him?

You would have to earn a doctorate in mental kinesthesiology to perform the feats of inductive gymnastics required to land that conclusion with both feet firmly planted in the pages of God’s Spirit-breathed word.

“Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights.
   How the mighty have fallen!

“Tell it not in Gath,
   proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
   lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad,
   lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.

“O mountains of Gilboa,
   may you have neither dew nor rain,
   nor fields that yield offerings of grain .
   For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
   the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.

“From the blood of the slain,
   from the flesh of the mighty,
   the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
   the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.

“Saul and Jonathan—
   in life they were loved and gracious,
   and in death they were not parted.
   They were swifter than eagles,
   they were stronger than lions.

“O daughters of Israel,
   weep for Saul,
   who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
   who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.

“How the mighty have fallen in battle!
   Jonathan lies slain on your heights.

“I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
   you were very dear to me.
   Your love for me was wonderful,
   more wonderful than that of women.

“How the mighty have fallen!
   The weapons of war have perished!”

~ 2 Samuel 1:19-27

A quick peek in from the outside

I never watched the television series Lost until the series finale last night.

Okay, not quite true. I never watched a full episode until last night. I caught part of an early one on SyFy (I think back then it was Sci-Fi Network) and there was a polar bear on a tropical island threatening marooned survivors of an air disaster, and a voice-recorded distress beacon that had been going for fifteen years, and I couldn’t make any sense of it. So I turned off the television.

This morning, a quick scan of the CNN bulletin board on the finale pretty much confirms what I expected to see: people either loved or hated the finale, even if they loved the series … and it left most perplexed and unsatisfied, even the ones who thought they “got it.”

Hey, I’m no genius. I expected to see that reaction because I’ve seen it before. When a television show like the original The Prisoner or its 2009 re-visioning has a finale like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s “What You Leave Behind,” people are going to either love or hate it … because not all of the loose ends are neatly tied up at THE end.

Some folks love and embrace mystery. So they’ll love it.

Some folks can’t stand an unanswered question. So they’ll hate it.

Which brings me to a hypothesis about people and religion and Christianity in particular.

There are all kinds of people who follow Christ. People who are okay with the fact that they will never fully, in this life, understand God or have all of their questions about Him answered … and people who aren’t. We all tend to have a bias, one way or the other.

The first group of people don’t have to know everything; it’s enough to love Him and be loved by Him.

The second group of people can’t settle for that; everything has to fit together somehow into a completed puzzle that is rational and logical and makes sense.

I think the danger for the first group is the extreme that the puzzle pieces which actually do fit together – the aspects of God’s nature that are clearly revealed by the Spirit in scripture – don’t matter all that much. If they want to believe that a loving God will save everyone, or that hell is figurative while heaven is literal, or that only mental assent to Christ’s Sonship is all that is required to be called “faithful,” they’ll believe that. It’s all a mystery, anyway, and a merciful God loves us, and if we don’t have to be right about everything then why should we have to be right about anything and so what?

I believe the danger for the second group is the extreme that only certain puzzle pieces matter; the crucial missing ones – the aspects of God’s nature that are obscured by the Spirit in scripture – are all that matter. If they want to believe that a just God will save only the perfectly righteous, or that the solo works of people unaccompanied by the Spirit’s help contribute to salvation, or that mental assent to this doctrine and that are also required to be called “faithful,” they’ll believe that. It’s all right there in scripture, if we would just take the time and the brain cells to parse it all out, and a righteous God will judge us, and if we have to be right about anything then we have to be right about everything and so there!

The problem with both extremes is that God is like us – and yet He isn’t. He isn’t simply just and righteous; He isn’t simply loving and merciful. He is complicatedly, perfectly both. He doesn’t have a bias one way or the other.

So He leaves us perplexed, with some answers (but not all) and some instructions (but not a million-volume rule book) and some hints / glimpses (but not a street map of eternity).

He leaves us transfixed, staring upward at the foot of His cross, and He gives us a choice.

We can either follow our own hearts and heads; walk away, and die and be lost … or follow Him to the tomb and the resurrection and a life worth saving.

“Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it.” ~ Exodus 29:36

“Sacrifice the other lamb at twilight with the same grain offering and its drink offering as in the morning—a pleasing aroma, an offering made to the LORD by fire.” ~ Exodus 29:41

“… I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” ~ Romans 12:1

I’m not fond of stringing together unrelated passages (especially when lifted out of context) to prove a point which may or may not exist.

But I have to wonder if there is a connection between the daily sacrifices God required of His people under the Old Covenant and the daily sacrifices He gives us the opportunity to make under the New Covenant.

The sacrifices of the old pact were bloody, messy, and made by fire; morning and evening.

The sacrifice which sealed the new pact was bloody, messy, and put the Son of God under fire from Satan; He perished in the evening and revived in the morning.

We are to be like Him.

We are to sacrifice ourselves, morning and evening, perishing to self in order to display revival, resurrection of our lives from bloody, messy purposelessness and self-centeredness here and now.

In the context of the passage from the New Covenant, Paul is instructing that this kind of worship transforms us; enables us to “test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” ~ Romans 12:2.

Daily sacrifices.

They never really went out of style.