Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 204

Chasing the Wind

The book of Ecclesiastes is the most powerful exposé of materialism ever written. Solomon recounts his attempts to find meaning in pleasure, laughter, alcohol, folly, building projects, and the pursuit of personal interests, as well as in amassing slaves, gold and silver, singers, and a huge harem to fulfill his sexual desires (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11). The more Solomon had, the more he was tempted to indulge. His indulgence led to sin, and his sin brought misery.

Solomon makes a series of insightful statements in Ecclesiastes 5:10–15. I’ll follow each with my paraphrase:

“Whoever loves money never has money enough” (v. 10). The more you have, the more you want.
“Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (v. 10). The more you have, the less you’re satisfied.
“As goods increase, so do those who consume them” (v. 11). The more you have, the more people (including the government) will come after it.
“And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” (v. 11). The more you have, the more you realize it does you no good.
“The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep” (v. 12). The more you have, the more you have to worry about.
“I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner” (v. 13). The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding on to it.
“Or wealth lost through some misfortune” (v.14). The more you have, the more you have to lose.
“Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (v. 15). The more you have, the more you’ll leave behind.

As the wealthiest man on earth, Solomon learned that affluence didn’t satisfy. All it did was give him greater opportunity to chase more mirages. People tend to run out of money before mirages, so they cling to the myth that things they can’t afford will satisfy them. Solomon’s money never ran out. He tried everything, saying, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure” (Ecclesiastes 2:10).

Solomon’s conclusion? “When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun” (v. 11).

Consider this statement, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). The repeated word never is emphatic—there are no exceptions. There’s an unspoken corollary to this statement: To become satisfied, you must change your attitude toward wealth.

Money itself is never the answer. What we need is a radically different perspective on money and a genuine opportunity to do something with it that will make our lives meaningful instead of meaningless.

      

Better Than I Deserve

We’re so used to being lied to that we’re suspicious of the gospel—like it’s too good to be true. You know: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

“What’s the catch?”

There is none!

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confi­dence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16, emphasis added). To a devout Jew, the notion of unhindered access to God is scandalous. Yet that access is ours, freely. Because of Christ’s work, God’s door is always open to us.

True grace undercuts not only self-righteousness, but also self-sufficiency. God often brings us to a point where we have no place to turn but to Him. As with manna, He always gives us enough but not too much. He doesn’t let us store up grace. We have to go back for it, fresh, every day, every hour.

Whenever I ask, “How are you doing?” my friend C. J. responds, “Better than I deserve.”

It’s not just a cute remark. He means it. And he’s right. We don’t deserve God’s daily graces, big or small.

The Roman centurion sent word to Jesus: “I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.... I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you” (Luke 7:6–7).

Living by grace means affirming daily our unworthiness. We are never thankful for what we think we deserve. We are deeply thankful for what we know we don’t deserve.

When you know you deserve eternal hell, it puts a “bad day” in perspective! If you realize you’re undeserving, suddenly the world comes alive—you’re surprised and grateful at God’s many kindnesses that were invisible when you thought you deserved better. Instead of drowning in self-pity, you’re floating on a sea of gratitude.

When I sense that I’m unworthy—and I often do—I’m sensing the truth. I don’t need you to talk me out of my unworthiness. I need you to talk me into humbly setting it before Christ and asking Him to empower me. Yes, I cling to the reality that I’m a new person, covered in Christ’s righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:17–21). But the same Paul who told us that also said, “I am less than the least of all God’s people” (Ephesians 3:8).

Pride is a heavy burden. There is nothing like that feeling of lightness when God graciously lifts our self-illusions from our shoulders. Even refusing to forgive ourselves is an act of pride—it’s making ourselves and our sins bigger than God and His grace.

Are we trying to atone for our sins? We can’t. Only Jesus can, and He already did.

Don’t try to repeat the atonement—just accept it! Embrace God’s forgiveness.

Relax. Rejoice.

      

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C. S. Lewis on Good and Bad, Christianity and Dualism

I’ve been “rereading” Mere Christianity, actually listening to it on audio. I first read it as a young Christian forty years ago. I’m amazed that this book seems to get even better with time. Many portions have been jumping out at me, as Lewis argues brilliantly for the Christian worldview that he came to from atheism and agnosticism. Here’s one small portion:

Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is not the sort of thing anyone would have made up. It has just that queer twist about it that real things have. So let us leave behind all these boys' philosophies—these over-simple answers. The problem is not simple and the answer is not going to be simpler either.

What is the problem? A universe that contains much that is obviously bad and apparently meaningless, but containing creatures like ourselves who know that it is bad and meaningless. There are only two views that face all the facts. One is the Christian view that this is a good world that has gone wrong, but still retains the memory of what it ought to have been. The other is the view called Dualism. Dualism means the belief that there are two equal and independent powers at the back of everything, one of them good and the other bad, and that this universe is the battlefield in which they fight out an endless war. I personally think that next to Christianity Dualism is the manliest and most sensible creed on the market. But it has a catch in it.

The two powers, or spirits, or gods—the good one and the bad one—are supposed to be quite independent. They both existed from all eternity. Neither of them made the other, neither of them has any more right than the other to call itself God. Each presumably thinks it is good and thinks the other bad. One of them likes hatred and cruelty, the other likes love and mercy, and each backs its own view. Now what do we mean when we call one of them the Good Power and the other the Bad Power? Either we are merely saying that we happen to prefer the one to the other—like preferring beer to cider—or else we are saying that, whatever the two powers think about it, and whichever we humans, at the moment, happen to like, one of them is actually wrong, actually mistaken, in regarding itself as good. Now it we mean merely that we happen to prefer the first, then we must give up talking about good and evil at all. For good means what you ought to prefer quite regardless of what you happen to like at any given moment. If "being good" meant simply joining the side you happened to fancy, for no real reason, then good would not deserve to be called good. So we must mean that one of the two powers is actually wrong and the other actually right.

But the moment you say that, you are putting into the universe a third thing in addition to the two Powers: some law or standard or rule of good which one of the powers conforms to and the other fails to conform to. But since the two powers are judged by this standard, then this standard, or the Being who made this standard, is farther back and higher up than either of them, and He will be the real God. In fact, what we meant by calling them good and bad turns out to be that one of them is in a right relation to the real ultimate God and the other in a wrong relation to Him.

—C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

      

You Can’t Take It with You

A sad news story that powerfully illustrates “you can’t take it with you.” Think of how the treasure could have been used to make a short-term and long-term difference in people’s lives. 

$7 million in gold found in dead Nevada man's home

By Isolde Raftery, NBC News

When Walter Samaszko Jr. died at his home in Carson City, Nev., he had $200 in a bank account. But as officials later discovered, Samaszko had about $7 million stored neatly around his home, the Nevada Appeal reported.

In late June, neighbors called authorities because of a smell emanating from Samaszko’s home. He was a recluse who had told them he hated the government and feared getting shots, but still, it had been a while since they had seen him, according to the Appeal.

According to the coroner, Samaszko, 69, had been dead for at least a month. He died of heart problems, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

In came the cleanup crews, which discovered boxes of gold in the garage.

“At that point, we took the house apart,” said Carson City clerk-recorder Alan Glover.

They found gold coins and bullion, tiny dos-pesos, $20 gold pieces, Austrian ducats, Kruggerrands and English Sovereigns dating  to the 1840s – enough gold to fill two wheelbarrows.

Read the rest of the story.

      

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Why We Need the Church

We all know that sometimes things can be difficult in churches. I’ve gone through it, and so have most of you. I experienced it when I was a pastor for fourteen years, and I’ve experienced it in the twenty-two years since. There have been a few times where I’ve very much wanted to walk away from a local church and just go it on my own, seeking private fellowship with believers here and there.

But the church of the New Testament is NOT just the universal invisible body of Christ. It is actual local gatherings of imperfect people, with imperfect leaders, including elders who teach and lead, where there is actual accountability and yes, when necessary, even discipline—not where people are independent and calling themselves individually "the church." There are many Christ-loving church families scattered around this country and around the world. None that are perfect, many that are seeking to honor Christ. Despite your past bad experiences, I encourage you to not give up on local churches, but to find one and give yourself to serving to help make it become more Christ-centered.

David Powlison speaks about why we need the local church. This seven minute video is well worth it:

On a related note: if you would like a church recommendation for your area, please call our EPM office at (503) 668-5200 or e-mail info@epm.org and we will do our best to help you. So far this year, we’ve provided 51 church referrals, for people in 23 different states. Each time someone gets plugged into a Bible-believing local church, the potential for them to grow in their faith and impact their surrounding community for Christ is multiplied.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! (Ephesians 3:20-21)

      

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Negativism and Doctrinal Drift among Some in World Missions

George Verwer, a man I dearly love and respect, and one of the great global missions leaders in church history as well as a champion for the unborn, has rewritten and updated a chapter from his book Out of the Comfort Zone. Here’s a portion from that chapter. Listen to our brother George, who has earned like few others the right to be heard in world missions. Especially pay close attention to his final two paragraphs about doctrinal drift:

Another vital key area where things get very messy is in the whole area of finance and sending funds to mission fields for people and projects.  With horror stories we can “prove” anything we want, so people tell horror stories of the misuse of funds on the field and it scares people from sending any money at all.  A hot word is the word “dependence” and some very extreme books and articles have been written about this.  I believe this brings a lot of confusion.  I am convinced that history will show that generosity and taking the risk of supporting a project (like a school) even thousands of miles away, has been a major positive factor in taking the Gospel forward and establishing His church.  I wish I had the time and gifting to write a book about it.

Some people will not support a new school if they do not see how it can be self-supporting right away. This is a huge mistake especially in places like India where they have had that teaching for years and so therefore there are very few good schools for the extreme poor (generally Dalits or Tribal People) whereas there are thousands of schools among those who can pay (I am not saying that’s wrong).  In the complex situation of extreme poverty we must expect to put a lot of money in before it can sustain itself.  In the case of schools it may be a couple of decades before it can change, when people who graduate from these schools have jobs.  Can people even imagine what we are up against in India with almost 300 million locked into the extreme poverty of untouchability.  These special situations, and there are many around the world, need hyper-special generosity.  Throwing up the dependency scare tactics can be one of the great hindrances.  Even with some things going wrong and we get a mess, I believe history will show that God was doing way more in the midst of the mess than we realized at the time.

In all of this we need to have more wisdom and common sense and avoid what I call destructive idealism.  If this idealism combines with the kind of perfectionist streak that many of us have, it causes a lot of discouragement, disunity and confusion and often much more.  That is why there are so many books setting forward someone’s teaching or agenda which gives an inaccurate picture of other people, churches and organizations and what they are doing.  A little more wisdom, patience and humility would go a long way in taking us into greater reality and victory.

A controversy is going on among mission and church leaders more than I have known in my lifetime.  There is a large group of people who want to be considered biblical and evangelical and yet who seem to, in a very subtle way, deny the very basics of the faith like the lostness of all who are outside of Christ and the substitutionary death of Christ.

I find that many books are so critical of the church and of the present evangelical global movement, which now involves hundreds of millions of people in almost every nation of the world.  It seems like they are saying that Hudson Taylor, John Stott, Billy Graham, Oswald J Smith, William Carey, Dr. Francis Schaeffer, Charles Spurgeon, DL Moody, Elizabeth Elliot, William Booth, John Wesley, Amy Carmichael and hundreds of others who have helped this movement become what it is today had it all wrong.  They might not say that, but that’s what their writing clearly infers.  Their books that have become so popular have many good things to say, but again and again they move from truth to error, leaving the readers in doubt and confusion.  The natural result is often criticism of their own church or denomination.  They of course cause many to leave their church and start new churches often based more on reaction than on biblical truth.  For me it’s leading to a higher level of ‘messiology’ than ever.  In the midst of it I believe we need more wisdom, love and discernment than ever.  We need the reality of pressing on ‘with our eyes on Jesus’ in the midst of the difficulties and challenges.

      

Questions for Our Pro-Abortion Friends, Church Leaders, and Politicians

Kevin DeYoung is a sharp young pastor and writer who I greatly appreciate. This blog is worth reading and contemplating. 

Questions for Our Pro-Abortion Friends, Church Leaders, and Politicians

by Kevin DeYoung

What shall we call the unborn in the womb?

If the entity is a living thing, is it not a life? If your person began as a single cell, how can that fertilized egg be something other than a human being? Isn't it more accurate to say you were an embryo than that you simply came from one?

So when does a human being have a right to life?

Shall we say size matters? Is the unborn child too small to deserve our protection? Are big people more valuable than little people? Are men more human than woman? Do offensive linemen have more rights than jockeys? Is the life in the womb of no account because you can't hold him in our arms, or put him in your hands, or only see her on a screen?

Shall we make intellectual development and mental capacity the measure of our worth? Are three year-old children less valuable than thirteen year-olds? Is the unborn child less than fully human because he cannot speak or count or be self-aware? Does the cooing infant in the crib have to smile or shake your hand or recite the alphabet before she deserves another day? If an expression of basic mental acuity is necessary to be a full-fledged member of the human community, what shall we do with the comatose, the very old, or the fifty year-old mom with Alzheimer's? And what about all of us who sleep?

Shall we deny the unborn child's right to life because of where he lives? Can environment give us value or take it away? Are we worth less inside than outside? Can we be justly killed when we swim under water? Does where we are determine who we are? Does the eight inch journey down the birth canal make us human? Does this change of scenery turn "its" into persons? Is love a condition of location?

Shall we reserve human dignity only for those humans who are not dependent on others? Do we deserve to live only when we can live on our own? Is the four-month old fetus less than human because she needs her mom for life? Is the four-month old infant less than human when she still needs her mom for life? What if you depend on dialysis or insulin or a breathing apparatus? Is value a product of fully-functioning vitality? Is independence a prerequisite for human identity? Are we worth only what we can think, accomplish, and do on our own?

If the unborn life is human life, what can justify snuffing it out? Would it be right to take the life of your child on his first birthday because he came to you through sad and tragic circumstances? Would you push an 18 month old into traffic because she makes our life difficult? Does a three year-old deserve to die because we think we deserve a choice?

What do you deserve now? What are your rights as a human person? Did you have those same rights five years ago? What about before you could drive? Or when you used training wheels? Were you less than fully human when you played in the sandbox? When you wore a bib? When you nursed at your mother's breast? When your dad cut your cord? When you tumbled in that watery mess and kicked against that funny wall? When your heart pounded on the monitor for the first time? When you grew your first fingernails? When you grew your first cells?

What shall we call the child in the womb? A fetus? A mystery? A mistake? A wedge issue? What if science and Scripture and commonsense would have us call it a person? What if the unborn child, the messy infant, the wobbly toddler, the rambunctious teenager, the college freshman, the blushing bride, the first-time mother, the working woman, the proud grammy, and the demented old friend differ not in kind but only in degree? Where in the progression does our humanity begin and end? Where does life become valuable? When are we worth something? When do human rights become our rights? What if Dr. Seuss was right and a person's a person no matter how small?

Why celebrate the right to kill what you once were? Why deny the rights of the little one who is what you are?

      

What do you think about linking current events to the end times?

What do you think about linking current events to the end times? Is this a good thing for Christians to focus on?

I certainly believe in the return of Christ. But I do not put much faith in prophecy buffs, who have been getting it wrong for so many years. What international conflict in the past century, especially involving the Middle East, has not inspired books and sermons affirming “this is it”? (Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, JFK, and Henry Kissinger are just a few of the “Anti-Christs” who have come and gone.)

Eventually some of the prophecy “experts” will be right about some things. Will it be this time, and will recent events trigger the real end times? It’s possible, of course. But I’ve heard dozens of theories about “men who must be the Anti-Christ”, as well as countless “the sky is falling” and “this is the beginning of the tribulation for sure” predictions, during the forty years since I became a Christian as a teenager. You will pardon me if I don’t have much interest in the latest theories.

What exactly is going to be the outcome of today’s current events in the Middle East and around the world? We simply don’t know. That takes us right back to the Word of God, where we need to be in the first place: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’ As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil” (James 4:13-16).

This puts us in our place. We’re not God, we don’t hold the universe in the palm of our hands and we just don’t know what lies ahead of us. I don’t know if I’ll be killed in a car wreck tomorrow or if a loved one will be diagnosed with terminal cancer. I’m not in charge—neither are you.

God is in charge, and He is not taken by surprise. He knew about today’s events before He created the world. He can and will use it as part of His plan, which may or may not include judging society and disciplining his church. Rather than speculate on what will happen, we should focus on what the Bible has told us all along—fear God, trust God, be wise, be prepared, be faithful, be generous, care for your family, look after the body of Christ, reach out to those who don’t know Him. We don't know the day or the hour of His return, and need to focus on faithfully serving our King until we die or He returns, either of which could happen any day.

Scripture tells us, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). We should respond to current events not with a spirit of fear, but of power (knowing God has given us in Christ all the resources we need to face any difficulty), love (putting the glory of God and the good of others before ourselves), and a sound mind (a disciplined, self-controlled and Spirit-controlled intellect that evaluates the available information and acts in light of biblical priorities and wisdom).

If we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, we need not worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:24-34). The best way to prepare for tomorrow is to walk with God today.

      

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Get Ready for Christians Going to Jail

Twenty-three years ago when I was going to jail for civil disobedience, a pastor told me he believed Christians shouldn’t go to jail. I told him I thought the day would come when he would go to jail, not for refusing to go along with abortion, but for refusing to go along with homosexuality. I said the courts would demand that his church not discriminate against homosexuals when hiring teachers for their church school. And eventually they would tell him he must not speak against homosexuality from the pulpit, because that would be hate speech. That seemed far-fetched to many at the time. To show how far we've come since then, read John Piper’s blog posted in July:

Some Foreseen Effects of Legalizing So-Called Same Sex Marriage

When I preached on the implications of the legalizing of so-called same sex marriage I said, “Pretending that [marriage] can exist between people of the same sex will send ripple effects of dysfunction and destruction in every direction, most of which are now unforeseen.”

Here is an example you may not have foreseen. There are hundreds of others on the way.

It has been reported that in the case of Elane Photography v. Willock (NM Ct. App., May 31, 2012) a New Mexico state appeals court held that a photography firm's refusal to provide its services to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony violates the New Mexico Human Rights Act's prohibition on discrimination in public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation.  

According to the court:

Elane Photography’s owners are Christians who believe that marriage is a sacred union of one man and one woman. They also believe that photography is an artistically expressive form of communication and photographing a same-sex commitment ceremony would disobey God and the teachings of the Bible by communicating a message contrary to their religious and personal beliefs.

Rejecting Elane Photography's free expression arguments, the court held:

The mere fact that a business provides a good or service with a recognized expressive element does not allow the business to engage in discriminatory practices… While Elane Photography does exercise some degree of control over the photographs it is hired to take… this control does not transform the photographs into a message from Elane Photography.

This is why on a recent panel discussion of pastors at a TGC meeting there was general consensus that if so-called same sex marriage is legalized, there will be a lot of conscientious, loving Christians going to jail.

      

 

How You View a Parachute Makes All the Difference in Whether You’re Grateful for It

Ray Comfort tells a memorable story that illustrates the difference between trusting Christ to make this life more pleasant, and trusting Him to deliver us from Hell so that we can enjoy Heaven with him forever:

Consider the following scenario.

Two men are seated in a plane. The first is given a parachute and told to put it on because it will improve his flight. He is a little skeptical at first; he cannot see how wearing a parachute on board a plane could possibly improve his flight.

After some time, he decides to experiment and see if the claims are true. As he straps the apparatus to his back, he notices the weight of it on his shoulders and he finds he now has difficulty sitting upright. However, he consoles himself with the flight attendant’s promise that the parachute will improve his flight, and he decides to give it a little time.

As the flight progresses, he notices that some of the other passengers are laughing at him because he is wearing a parachute inside the plane. He begins to feel somewhat humiliated. As they continue to laugh and point at him, he can stand it no longer. He sinks in his seat, unstraps the parachute, and throws it to the floor. Disillusionment and bitterness fills his heart because as far as he is concerned, he was told an outright lie.

The second man is also given a parachute, but listen to what he is told. He is told to put it on because at any moment he will have to jump out of the plane at 25,000 feet. He gratefully puts the parachute on. He does not notice the weight of it upon his shoulders, nor is he concerned that he cannot sit upright. His mind is consumed with the thought of what would happen to him if he jumped without the parachute.

Let’s now analyze the motive and the result of each passenger’s experience. The first man’s motive for putting on the parachute was solely to improve his flight. The result of his experience was that he was humiliated by the other passengers, disillusioned, and somewhat embittered against those who gave him the parachute. As far as he is concerned, it will be a long time before anyone gets one of those things on his back again.

The second man put on the parachute solely to survive the jump to come. And because of his knowledge of what would happen to him if he jumped without it, he has a deep-rooted joy and peace in his heart, knowing that he has been saved from certain death. This knowledge gives him the ability to withstand the mockery of the other passengers. His attitude toward those who gave him the parachute is one of heartfelt gratitude.

...Instead of preaching that Jesus will “improve the flight,” we should be warning sinners that one day they will have to jump out of the plane. “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Ray Comfort, God Has A Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message (Bellflower, CA: Living Waters Publications, 2010), 69-71.

      

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