The other night I saw a program on the Navy Seal training, about how rigorous and frightening the training was. Only one in three persevere to the end.
Seals are the first who are called in on dangerous and deadly missions. Since they will be facing fear constantly, from the first moment they begin their training, they are constantly put in terrifying situations.
In one exercise he soldiers are put in a swimming pool with diving gear. While they are underwater, their trainers do everything in their power to cut off their air supply. The Seal must free himself from their trainers and survive underwater. Most people fail this test because of panic. So many failed, in fact that their trainers created a special program for those who failed to deal with panic.
The program involved three aspects. First, they must have a clear purpose. Second, they had to rehearse it mentally before they did it. Third, and most important, they were given a list of affirmations to say to themselves. We all have an inner dialogue going on at all time, which can either work for us or against us. They must answer fear with faith, despair with hope, and “I can’t” with “I can.”
What the Seal trainers his upon is old wisdom. It is the wisdom of confession.
Last week we began discussing of the skill of confession. Confession means agreeing with God. We agree that is sin and that righteousness is righteousness.
In the NIV version of the New Testament, “confess” is used ten times. Out of those ten time, only two times does it mean confession of sin (and one of them is problematical). I John 1:9 and James 5:16, though in the latter case, we are not told to confess our sins, but our shortcomimgs. In the other eight uses, it refers to the confession of Christ.
John 1:19-20 Now this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, "I am not the Christ."
Rom 10:9-10 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Phil 2:10-11 At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Heb 3:1Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess
Heb 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess his name.
In each of the passages, we confess we that Christ is sufficient.
This has a direct bearing on our prayers. When we pray, we should not pray in faith, nothing doubting. Yet our minds are full of doubt. Our faith is tentative at best. We can name a thousand reasons for fear. Fear is basic, animal instinct. Panic is natural.
But positive confession is the answer to fear. It is God’s way to reprogram our hearts and minds to obey and believe the voice of God.
Romans 12 1 says “Brethren, urge you by the mercies of God that you present yourselves a living sacrifice to God, wholly and acceptable to Him, and to not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind through the Word.”
Confess the truth to renew our hearts and minds. Prayer depends upon faith, and faith depends upon a renewed mind. It is a gift that God gives us through our agreement with Him. ]
So many things seem impossible. But when we look at the world from God’s perspective, nothing is impossible. In our worldly vision, we are brief candles, easily blown out.. We are simply bags of meat and chemicals, holding together for seventy to a hundred years, and then falling apart, We are tiny specks on a giant world, hardly significant at all. But when we look at things from God’s perspectives, we are greater than the angels. We are eternal children of an eternal God, not bound by time and space forever, but the most endurable thing in the entire universe. When the rest of the universe has collapsed in upon itself, we will still be with God.
So in prayer, we need to reaffirm what we confess.
Many Christians misunderstand the concept of positive confession. This is not positive thinking. Neither is magical manipulation of circumstances. It is rather our minds agreeing with God’s mind, and affirming what has always been true.
The dangers misapplication of positive confession are obvious. Once I attended a hospice seminar where a chaplain/psychologist was lecturing a group of volunteers about helping dying patients. One volunteer raised his hand and told about a wonderful patient he had. He said the man was told he was dying and refused to accept it. Instead, he told everyone that he would recover and refused to let anyone else tell him differently. To the volunteer, this was a good thing. But the lecturer merely said. “If you stand in the middle of the road while a truck is coming, and refuse to believe in the existence of trucks, you will be just as dead as if you did.” Positive thinking if it is not real can ruin faith, not encourage it.
So here are some guidelines to keep in mind.
\1. Positive confession must also be true confession. No positive confession will a dog into a cat, or poison into healthy food. Whatever we confess to must be true. No amount of belief in our athletic abilities will compensate for a lack of talent, training, and conditioning. No amount of positive faith will hold back the clock or guarantee us eternal life on this world. We will not win every battle, neither will we stay alive forever. Neither can everyone be rich and popular just by claiming that we will be. It is not God’s will that we all live forever on this world, and if God intended for there to be no sickness, then why did He not wipe out all germs. No, We must accept what is true, and what is from God’s hand.
2. Positive confession is Christ confession. The Gospel is our standard of truth.
The Gospel declares
--We are sinners. We should not tell ourselves over and over that we are good people when we are not.
--We cannot save ourselves. The ability to be good people comes from God, not from our own inherient nature. Jesus is the atonement for our sins.
-- Jesus died for us as an expression of a benevolent and caring God.
--Anyone can start over with God. No matter how many times we have sinned, the blood of Jesus still cleanses us from all sin. Any belief that leaves us at odds with God does not understand the nature of the atonement, or the Gospel.
3, A positive confession must be what God has said. The best positive confessions are those which reflect Biblical truth.
The Bible is a treasure trove of helpful affirmations. For example.
“Nothing is impossible with God.”
“I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
“He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is fixed on You.”
“For He will never leave you or forsake you.”
“For you are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
“God is working in all things for good for those who love God and are called accorgind to His purposes.”
“Nothing can separate us from the Love of God.”
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
There are thousands more verses from which me may form our positive confessions. The more we study the Scriptures, the more His promises leap out at us. We can use those verses as a basis for our prayers.
4. Positive confessions should be personal and specific. Do not just claim a general list of promises Do not just say “nothing can separate us from God.” Say “Nothing can separate me from God.” Just as last week we saw that if we keep our negative confession general, it is no good for cleansing our sins, so we also know that the same is true for positive confessions. We need to claim God’s promises for ourselves and not just for others. Make those claims personal.
5. Positive confessions should be repeated often. People who have trouble with faith do not accept a positive confession on the first hearing. They must repeat to themselves over and over. Studies habve shown that we are constantly talking to ourselves, saying in our minds more than three hundred to a thousand words a minute to ourselves. Much of what we say is negative and doubtful. If we are so prone to say the wrong things to ourselves over and over again, why should be not also say the right things, over and over again? The more we repeat the truth, the more it wbill cast out the lie.
6. Positive confessions should be public. Confess not just to ourselves, but to others. Tell others what you are saying. Let them know what you affirm. By telling others, it becomes more real to ourselves.
9. Positive confessions should be accompanied by positive action. Step out on faith. Do what you say you are going to do. Keep with people who are positive, and do not wallow in negativity. We become like the company we keep. Keep repeating the truth, and do not conform to the lie. Don’t allow yourself to fall into patterns that would be true if God’s word were not, but fill your mind with positive faith and joy.
For with the mouth, confession is made, Positive confession is the key to faith, just as faith is the key to prayer. Keep telling yourself the truth and it will take root in your heart.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Prayer of Confession
This week we are continuing our study of prayer skills. Today, we reach the third skill of prayer--confession.
In Florida Presbytery I was asked to organize prayer at a beach retreat for ministers. I organized the retreat around five one-hour sessions of prayer–one each for praise, thanksgiving, confession petition, and intercession..
The first hour went very well. I asked my colleagues “Gentlemen, tell us what would like to praise God for.”
The ministers were eloquent. They went on and on about the wonderful attributes of God,
The second session went even better. “Gentlemen, tell us what we can thank God for.”
You should have heard it such magnificent prayers! It went far beyond an hour.
For the third session, I asked “Gentlemen, what you would confess.”
It was an awkward silence. There was certainly no rush to confess.
Why is it so hard for us to confess? No one wants to air their dirty linen in public.
Confession (we suppose) is for criminals, adulterers, thieves, and other nasty people. Not for people like us! But God says differently. We should be quick to confess our sins.
The embarrassing nature of confession has caused many Christians to skip this part of prayer altogether. Confession used to have a much more prominent place. Every worship service had a “prayer of confession.” Most Protestant churches have dropped it altogether.
But God commands us to confess. So why don’t we? Why should we confess?
For the reason why, let’s look at what confession really means.
Confession is an interesting word in both Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament word means “to give up,” or literally to put out of one’s hand. When a person brought a sin offering would put his hands on the animal to be slaughtered, and pronounce his sin upon them. By the laying of hands, he conveyed his sins into the animal. In the Old Testament, the confessing of specific sins leads to specific forgiveness.
The New Testament word for confession literally means “To speak with” or “agree.” It is seeing the world the way God sees it We agree with God about the nature of our actions.. We don’t call adultery “a youthful indiscretion” or “a harmless fling”--it is sin. Confession is openly affirming what God already knows.
In the Bible, there are two kinds of confessions--negative and positive. Both need to be included in prayer. It would take too long in one message to deal with them both, so we will focus on negative confessions this week, and positive confessions next week.
Negative confession means acknowledging our sins.
We confess to restore our relationship with others. Numbers 5:5-7. The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the LORD, that person is guilty and must confess the sin he has committed.
In the Law of Moses, confession is an essential part of justice and restoration. If we are not willing to admit it when we have hurt someone, then we cannot restore our relationship.
We also confess to restore our relationship with God. Ps 38:17-18 says, for I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
The psalmist is calling on God to help defeat his enemies yet he stops to admit his own sins, too. Other people may or may have sinned against him, but that doesn’t matter. Only God’s support matters. If anything stands between him and God, it must be removed.
Confession is also important to us in the New Testament. James 5:13-16
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Healing and forgiveness are tied to confession. Confession of sin is as important in restoration as prayer.
James is not just talking about confessing to God. James uses a slightly different word for “confess” in this passage than what we read in other parts of the Bible. He uses a word that means to agree among yourselves. We must all hear what our confessions are, and agree that God hs forgiven them, so that our relationships will not be affected by them.
So confession has a place, both in private to God and openly with others.
1 John 1:8-9 carries on this theme. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
Confession is not so much about attaining forgiveness for our sins as it is about restoring our health and relationships. God forgives our sins, but confession is necessary for the cleansing.
Think about the Gulf oil spill. When we finally get the oil to stop gushing, it will still take months to clean up that mess. Forgiveness is necessary to stop the gush of poisonous sin and guilt that poisons our lives. Confession is necessary to clean up the damage that it has inflicted.
What does confession do for us? Confession:
• Keeps us humble. We constantly need His help and forgiveness.
• Keeps us from being judgmental. If we are not perfect, how can we judge others?
• Restores our relationships broken by deception and sin..
Confession to others is important, but confession to God is even more important. Confession should be regularly a part of our prayers.
Not all prayers of confession are equally effective, though. When we confess, we should keep some principles in mind.
Make It Specific. It does no good to say “Lord, I am a sinner” if we will not confess our actual sins. It would be like going into a police station and confessing you have committed a crime, then not telling the police what it was. Confession includes what sins you have actually committed.
How can we say we are trying not to abuse our body, when we are not willing to admit that we eat too much, smoke, and don’t get ay exercise? How can we say we have neglected those who are less fortunate, if we don’t give any money to help the poor? How can we say we have not cared for our unbelieving neighbor and not admit that we should have told him about Jesus when we had the chance? Confession that is vague brings no life, and no cleansing.
Make it as frequent as our sin. What if, after we confess, we keep on doing? If we commit a sin a thousand times, Jesus will forgive a thousand times. But we must admit that it is a sin, and ask for cleansing. To keep on sinning when we know it is a sin is to abuse the forgiveness that God has given us. No one declares bankruptcy and immediately gets new credit cards. That would be an abuse of the courts. When we keep sinning we abuse God’s generous forgiveness. But with each confession, God cancels our debt to Him.
Confess each sin only once. People often confuse sin with low self esteem. They feel bad about themselves, so they think that God must feel bad about them, too. These people keep confessing the same sins over and over. The last thing God wants for His children is for them to walk around all day feeling generally guilt for everything.
To confess the same sin twice is to deny the love of God, because we are saying the God did not forgive us the first time. Once we have confessed, whether we feel it or not, we are no longer guilty in God’s eyes. His forgiveness is ours immediately.
A good way to keep our confessions honest is to write them down on paper. Theyn you can look back and see how many times in the day you commit the same sins. This makes you aware of the sin, and helps you to eradicate it from your lives.
Temptations are not sins. We do not confess what we felt like doing unless we have done it, said it, or intended to do it. Being tempted is not a sin. Pray for deliverance from temptation, but forgiveness for sins. Temptation is always present. Sin comes when we welcome it..
Follow it with forgiveness. For each negative admission, have a positive affirmation of forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 is such a promise. God wants to forget our sins—in fact, he already has. All that is left is for us to recognize that forgiveness, given in the cross. No one can out-sin God’s forgiveness.
Public sins should be publicly confessed. Private sins privately. If we have committed a sin against someone, we should confess it to them as well as to God. But if a sin is no one else’s business, then to share it is gossip.
There is an exception to this. Everyone should have friends who are close enough and trustworthy enough to serve as accountability partners. They lovingly keep us on the right track. They ask us the questions we may not want to ask ourselves. How’s your prayer life? What were you looking at last night? Have you made good on what you said you would do? These people also remind us of God’s forgiveness, and encourage us when we improve.
Confession of sin is not all there is to confession, though. If we agree with God, we must also agree with Him regarding the good things and His promises in our lives. This is called affirmation, and it will be the subject of next week’s talk.
In Florida Presbytery I was asked to organize prayer at a beach retreat for ministers. I organized the retreat around five one-hour sessions of prayer–one each for praise, thanksgiving, confession petition, and intercession..
The first hour went very well. I asked my colleagues “Gentlemen, tell us what would like to praise God for.”
The ministers were eloquent. They went on and on about the wonderful attributes of God,
The second session went even better. “Gentlemen, tell us what we can thank God for.”
You should have heard it such magnificent prayers! It went far beyond an hour.
For the third session, I asked “Gentlemen, what you would confess.”
It was an awkward silence. There was certainly no rush to confess.
Why is it so hard for us to confess? No one wants to air their dirty linen in public.
Confession (we suppose) is for criminals, adulterers, thieves, and other nasty people. Not for people like us! But God says differently. We should be quick to confess our sins.
The embarrassing nature of confession has caused many Christians to skip this part of prayer altogether. Confession used to have a much more prominent place. Every worship service had a “prayer of confession.” Most Protestant churches have dropped it altogether.
But God commands us to confess. So why don’t we? Why should we confess?
For the reason why, let’s look at what confession really means.
Confession is an interesting word in both Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament word means “to give up,” or literally to put out of one’s hand. When a person brought a sin offering would put his hands on the animal to be slaughtered, and pronounce his sin upon them. By the laying of hands, he conveyed his sins into the animal. In the Old Testament, the confessing of specific sins leads to specific forgiveness.
The New Testament word for confession literally means “To speak with” or “agree.” It is seeing the world the way God sees it We agree with God about the nature of our actions.. We don’t call adultery “a youthful indiscretion” or “a harmless fling”--it is sin. Confession is openly affirming what God already knows.
In the Bible, there are two kinds of confessions--negative and positive. Both need to be included in prayer. It would take too long in one message to deal with them both, so we will focus on negative confessions this week, and positive confessions next week.
Negative confession means acknowledging our sins.
We confess to restore our relationship with others. Numbers 5:5-7. The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'When a man or woman wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the LORD, that person is guilty and must confess the sin he has committed.
In the Law of Moses, confession is an essential part of justice and restoration. If we are not willing to admit it when we have hurt someone, then we cannot restore our relationship.
We also confess to restore our relationship with God. Ps 38:17-18 says, for I am about to fall, and my pain is ever with me. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.
The psalmist is calling on God to help defeat his enemies yet he stops to admit his own sins, too. Other people may or may have sinned against him, but that doesn’t matter. Only God’s support matters. If anything stands between him and God, it must be removed.
Confession is also important to us in the New Testament. James 5:13-16
Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Healing and forgiveness are tied to confession. Confession of sin is as important in restoration as prayer.
James is not just talking about confessing to God. James uses a slightly different word for “confess” in this passage than what we read in other parts of the Bible. He uses a word that means to agree among yourselves. We must all hear what our confessions are, and agree that God hs forgiven them, so that our relationships will not be affected by them.
So confession has a place, both in private to God and openly with others.
1 John 1:8-9 carries on this theme. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
Confession is not so much about attaining forgiveness for our sins as it is about restoring our health and relationships. God forgives our sins, but confession is necessary for the cleansing.
Think about the Gulf oil spill. When we finally get the oil to stop gushing, it will still take months to clean up that mess. Forgiveness is necessary to stop the gush of poisonous sin and guilt that poisons our lives. Confession is necessary to clean up the damage that it has inflicted.
What does confession do for us? Confession:
• Keeps us humble. We constantly need His help and forgiveness.
• Keeps us from being judgmental. If we are not perfect, how can we judge others?
• Restores our relationships broken by deception and sin..
Confession to others is important, but confession to God is even more important. Confession should be regularly a part of our prayers.
Not all prayers of confession are equally effective, though. When we confess, we should keep some principles in mind.
Make It Specific. It does no good to say “Lord, I am a sinner” if we will not confess our actual sins. It would be like going into a police station and confessing you have committed a crime, then not telling the police what it was. Confession includes what sins you have actually committed.
How can we say we are trying not to abuse our body, when we are not willing to admit that we eat too much, smoke, and don’t get ay exercise? How can we say we have neglected those who are less fortunate, if we don’t give any money to help the poor? How can we say we have not cared for our unbelieving neighbor and not admit that we should have told him about Jesus when we had the chance? Confession that is vague brings no life, and no cleansing.
Make it as frequent as our sin. What if, after we confess, we keep on doing? If we commit a sin a thousand times, Jesus will forgive a thousand times. But we must admit that it is a sin, and ask for cleansing. To keep on sinning when we know it is a sin is to abuse the forgiveness that God has given us. No one declares bankruptcy and immediately gets new credit cards. That would be an abuse of the courts. When we keep sinning we abuse God’s generous forgiveness. But with each confession, God cancels our debt to Him.
Confess each sin only once. People often confuse sin with low self esteem. They feel bad about themselves, so they think that God must feel bad about them, too. These people keep confessing the same sins over and over. The last thing God wants for His children is for them to walk around all day feeling generally guilt for everything.
To confess the same sin twice is to deny the love of God, because we are saying the God did not forgive us the first time. Once we have confessed, whether we feel it or not, we are no longer guilty in God’s eyes. His forgiveness is ours immediately.
A good way to keep our confessions honest is to write them down on paper. Theyn you can look back and see how many times in the day you commit the same sins. This makes you aware of the sin, and helps you to eradicate it from your lives.
Temptations are not sins. We do not confess what we felt like doing unless we have done it, said it, or intended to do it. Being tempted is not a sin. Pray for deliverance from temptation, but forgiveness for sins. Temptation is always present. Sin comes when we welcome it..
Follow it with forgiveness. For each negative admission, have a positive affirmation of forgiveness. 1 John 1:9 is such a promise. God wants to forget our sins—in fact, he already has. All that is left is for us to recognize that forgiveness, given in the cross. No one can out-sin God’s forgiveness.
Public sins should be publicly confessed. Private sins privately. If we have committed a sin against someone, we should confess it to them as well as to God. But if a sin is no one else’s business, then to share it is gossip.
There is an exception to this. Everyone should have friends who are close enough and trustworthy enough to serve as accountability partners. They lovingly keep us on the right track. They ask us the questions we may not want to ask ourselves. How’s your prayer life? What were you looking at last night? Have you made good on what you said you would do? These people also remind us of God’s forgiveness, and encourage us when we improve.
Confession of sin is not all there is to confession, though. If we agree with God, we must also agree with Him regarding the good things and His promises in our lives. This is called affirmation, and it will be the subject of next week’s talk.
On Being Judgmental, Part 1
I don't know if this is a product of turning old, but the older I get, the less judgmental I become. Maybe it’s a product of old age. As we age, we mellow, and an absolute black and white view of the world starts to gray around the edges. Things are not so clear-cut as they once were. Neither am I smart as I used to think I was. I must have become dumber as I have gotten older.
Of course, there is such a thing as being too non-judgmental. Some things need to be praised, while others deserve condemnation. Clearly, we can err two far in either direction.
That being said, why is it that we Christians, especially conservative, Bible-believing Christians, seem to lean in favor of judgment? I mean we seem to go out of our way to judge others. How is it that among those who are saved by Grace and rescued from hell only by the forgiveness of Christ, we still find ourselves judging others? Daily we reenact that parable about the man who was forgiven millions, yet could not forgive that pitiful amount owed him. More than that, we don't seem to stop there. We can't overlook the debts that are not even owed us. It seems to be enough for us to withhold fellowship and love from people who owe us nothing, but instead owe it do someone else.
This is a little vague I know, so let me get more specific. Let's say we read about some popular preacher has made some controversial statement that may mean he has changed his views on a controversial subject. This person is not of our denomination. Their ministry in no way affects ours. Yet we are compelled to correct him, and tell others not to listen to him. The statement might have been out of context. It might not be so bad as we thought. But why is it our business to find that out, or to correct them if they are not in our fellowship? It is not just a question of rushing to judgment--it is our compulsion to judge if we don't have to.
Or let's say that we hear an aquaintance might be cheating on his wife. Is his sin against us? Is it our business to know his business? Bill Gothard once famously said that gossip was telling something true or false about a person when we are neither part of the solution or part of the problem. If we are neither the solution or the problem, then why do we want to throw ourselves in the middle of someone else's business?
I know some people will say about this: "Don't we have an obligation to correct a straying brother?" "Shouldn't we be concerned that false doctrines or practices would creep into the church?" We do, of course. That is why we should go privately and talk with those who we think might be in moral trouble. But that's not what we do. That requires courage, and most of us don’t have it. Instead, we spread our views around to others, and never get around to talking directly to them. As far as the purity of the church is concerned, there does need to be clear teachings on some things. But it is, after all God's church and not ours. He is capable of defending it far better than we are. Our job is to instruct the flock under us, and not assume responsibility over people in other flocks. We do not have the wisdom to always tell what is good or bad, or right or wrong about another. Judgmentalism is a slippery slope. Saying that we must judge in one circumstance makes it easier for us judge the next time. Before we know it, we have assumed the position of judge over others whenever and about whatever we please.
Why do we need to judge? If God had wanted us to judge others, He would have given us the title and the authority. It is our flesh, not our spirit, that cries out for the power to judge others.
Moe about this later.
Of course, there is such a thing as being too non-judgmental. Some things need to be praised, while others deserve condemnation. Clearly, we can err two far in either direction.
That being said, why is it that we Christians, especially conservative, Bible-believing Christians, seem to lean in favor of judgment? I mean we seem to go out of our way to judge others. How is it that among those who are saved by Grace and rescued from hell only by the forgiveness of Christ, we still find ourselves judging others? Daily we reenact that parable about the man who was forgiven millions, yet could not forgive that pitiful amount owed him. More than that, we don't seem to stop there. We can't overlook the debts that are not even owed us. It seems to be enough for us to withhold fellowship and love from people who owe us nothing, but instead owe it do someone else.
This is a little vague I know, so let me get more specific. Let's say we read about some popular preacher has made some controversial statement that may mean he has changed his views on a controversial subject. This person is not of our denomination. Their ministry in no way affects ours. Yet we are compelled to correct him, and tell others not to listen to him. The statement might have been out of context. It might not be so bad as we thought. But why is it our business to find that out, or to correct them if they are not in our fellowship? It is not just a question of rushing to judgment--it is our compulsion to judge if we don't have to.
Or let's say that we hear an aquaintance might be cheating on his wife. Is his sin against us? Is it our business to know his business? Bill Gothard once famously said that gossip was telling something true or false about a person when we are neither part of the solution or part of the problem. If we are neither the solution or the problem, then why do we want to throw ourselves in the middle of someone else's business?
I know some people will say about this: "Don't we have an obligation to correct a straying brother?" "Shouldn't we be concerned that false doctrines or practices would creep into the church?" We do, of course. That is why we should go privately and talk with those who we think might be in moral trouble. But that's not what we do. That requires courage, and most of us don’t have it. Instead, we spread our views around to others, and never get around to talking directly to them. As far as the purity of the church is concerned, there does need to be clear teachings on some things. But it is, after all God's church and not ours. He is capable of defending it far better than we are. Our job is to instruct the flock under us, and not assume responsibility over people in other flocks. We do not have the wisdom to always tell what is good or bad, or right or wrong about another. Judgmentalism is a slippery slope. Saying that we must judge in one circumstance makes it easier for us judge the next time. Before we know it, we have assumed the position of judge over others whenever and about whatever we please.
Why do we need to judge? If God had wanted us to judge others, He would have given us the title and the authority. It is our flesh, not our spirit, that cries out for the power to judge others.
Moe about this later.
Changes, Changes!
So many changes!
There is so many changes in Joy and my lives today that I haven't been able to keep up with all of them. Good things. Molly got married last Saturday. They moved with her husband to Davidson, and has We've also adopted a dog--Natasha. She's a black border collie mix, about a year and a half old. She's the first female dog we've had, and is a big different from other dogs we've had. Not as much doggie testosterone. She's lively, all right, but likes to be petted more than any dog I've seen. I fully expect that, if she could talk, she'd ask if her collar made her look fat.
I'm getting a usable office at church, which means I'll be spending more time there. It will be nice to have a professional looking office again after so many years. I'm moving my books in, which is taking several days to complete.
Along with a new dog, office, and son-in-law, we also got new furniture for our living room. This includes a new TV, couch, two chairs, and coffee table. Who would have thought that merely getting a few new sticks of furniture would have been so disruptive. I'm moving books around, trying to get rid of old stuff, and rearranging. I'll be glad when it's over.
We've also joined a health club. It's been fun, but it's shown me how out of shape I actually am. It is something that Joy and I both feel that God has been leading us to do. If we want to be around to see grandchildren, we had better be concerned about our health.
Meanwhile, Joy had a health scare. She had been sick for six weeks with a bad spell of asthma. She has still not gotten over it. A CAT scan of her chest revealed a small nodule in her trachea, which they thought might be linked to the problem. Praise God, when they went to see it through a bronchioscope, it was gone. God must have removed it, Praise Him.
Meanwhile (have you ever notice how powerful a word "meanwhile" is?) My parents are considering going into a retirement home. It has gotten increasingly difficult to get around where they are, and they are concerned about the future. We do not know whether it will be in Atlanta or near us.
Another meanwhile, I've been elected to head the writer's club in Monroe this year--my first office outside the church. We're setting up writing contests, poetry reading, and storytelling events. It's an exciting voyage, but I don't yet have my sea legs.
Funny how things change--never slowly, but in gushes. I've learned to appreciate the quiet moments more, because God gives them for a reason--to rest for the next wave of change.
There is so many changes in Joy and my lives today that I haven't been able to keep up with all of them. Good things. Molly got married last Saturday. They moved with her husband to Davidson, and has We've also adopted a dog--Natasha. She's a black border collie mix, about a year and a half old. She's the first female dog we've had, and is a big different from other dogs we've had. Not as much doggie testosterone. She's lively, all right, but likes to be petted more than any dog I've seen. I fully expect that, if she could talk, she'd ask if her collar made her look fat.
I'm getting a usable office at church, which means I'll be spending more time there. It will be nice to have a professional looking office again after so many years. I'm moving my books in, which is taking several days to complete.
Along with a new dog, office, and son-in-law, we also got new furniture for our living room. This includes a new TV, couch, two chairs, and coffee table. Who would have thought that merely getting a few new sticks of furniture would have been so disruptive. I'm moving books around, trying to get rid of old stuff, and rearranging. I'll be glad when it's over.
We've also joined a health club. It's been fun, but it's shown me how out of shape I actually am. It is something that Joy and I both feel that God has been leading us to do. If we want to be around to see grandchildren, we had better be concerned about our health.
Meanwhile, Joy had a health scare. She had been sick for six weeks with a bad spell of asthma. She has still not gotten over it. A CAT scan of her chest revealed a small nodule in her trachea, which they thought might be linked to the problem. Praise God, when they went to see it through a bronchioscope, it was gone. God must have removed it, Praise Him.
Meanwhile (have you ever notice how powerful a word "meanwhile" is?) My parents are considering going into a retirement home. It has gotten increasingly difficult to get around where they are, and they are concerned about the future. We do not know whether it will be in Atlanta or near us.
Another meanwhile, I've been elected to head the writer's club in Monroe this year--my first office outside the church. We're setting up writing contests, poetry reading, and storytelling events. It's an exciting voyage, but I don't yet have my sea legs.
Funny how things change--never slowly, but in gushes. I've learned to appreciate the quiet moments more, because God gives them for a reason--to rest for the next wave of change.
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