by chrisaiken | Apr 25, 2017 | Devotions, discipleship, Pastor's Reflections
“There are boundaries that exist for our good.” These words are incredibly difficult for me to speak in my flesh, that is, when rising up from my humanity. I dislike the concept of boundaries. I recognize their inherent worth in principle, but, at times, the desires of man’s nature make those boundaries seem intrusive and even impossible.
Yet, if we comprehend the metanarrative of God’s purposeful design then we must acknowledge the value of boundaries. To reject boundaries or to resist their purpose is to subject ourselves to incalculable suffering. Early one morning, I scanned through the channels of the television and came upon a movie about transgressed boundaries. The full story line is inconsequential except for its value in illustrating my point. It was a story of forbidden love and how the draw of the heart brought two people together, even momentarily. Doing so damaged a marriage commitment. In fact, the commitment to marriage had been modified to become “open” so that the heart could wander and fulfill its passions. The storyline presented the case that casting off boundaries, while ultimately causing heartache, freed the heart to experience great and blissful happiness and fulfillment, even if it were only temporary. I was reminded of the gracious and loving gift of boundaries.
Some see God as “old fashioned” because He instructs people to avoid certain things. From the declaration to not eat from the “certain” tree in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), to the counsel of the writer of Proverbs about the foolishness of lustful naivety (Proverbs 7) and its magnetic draw toward adultery and death (Proverbs 5), Scripture gives us boundaries to guard us and guide us toward unspeakable joy. These boundaries, when tested by the heart, seem oppressive; however, when comprehended by the faithful Christian, are instruments that promote ultimate peace, pleasure, and satisfaction.
“Rules were made to be broken,” as the saying goes, is a recipe for disaster. Time will not allow me to unpack stories of those who have wept before me over adulterous relationships that began as unchecked flirtatiousness. There are not enough hours to detail the immense suffering that resulted from stealing from a trusted friend or family member. We cannot even begin to examine the costs of addiction that began as one pill or one beer to relax. In nearly every case, the grief-stricken person can detail the moment that the heart approached the biblical boundary for the final skirmish and transgressed it.
Truly, boundaries seem archaic at times and the draw of human nature (or you may call the heart) seems overwhelmingly strong; however, can we ever claim that this is unusual to us? Is this not the struggle in Genesis 4 in the heart of Cain? Is this not the allure that seized David’s heart when looking upon Bathsheba? IS this not the battle raging in Peter’s heart as he warmed himself over a stove in Caiaphas’ courtyard (Matthew 27:69ff)?
Dear friends, God always designed us to battle the pull of the heart toward rebellion…not because His ego was massive but because God desired to save us from the consequences of the morning after, and the one after that, and the one after that.
The storyline of the movie positioned the experience of forbidden love as something positive. The “adversary” convinced Cain that his happiness would follow the destruction of his brother Abel. The naïve young man of Proverbs 7 fell headlong into destruction, convinced that the beautiful woman would be his “ticket” to ultimate pleasure. Truthfully, the “enemy” has always packaged rebellion as the means to happiness but the consequences outlive the momentary pleasure. God’s boundaries promote joy over suffering, pleasure over pain, and holiness over dishonor. They are His gracious and loving gift.
Like this:
Like Loading...
by chrisaiken | Apr 4, 2017 | Devotions, discipleship, pastor, Uncategorized
“Love your enemies. do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-28.
If you’re like me, you might have wished you had just scrolled past this short article.
What under heaven is Jesus thinking?
Is there a text more challenging, more piercing, more provoking in all of Scripture?
Is there a single statement that is more illuminating of the condition of our hearts?
We struggle truly loving those closest to us. I don’t mean that we don’t have a form of love for them; certainly, we do. What I am speaking of is the passionate conviction to apply ourselves to living for their good…to serving to their benefit. We struggle because there is often a part of us, deep down, that hopes to benefit from such loving displays. We love and (kind of) hope/expect to be recognized for it. In these cases, we demonstrate self-love.
Man’s greatest issue is his infatuation with Himself. We are self-seeking and self-serving at our core. We process most events in our lives through the filter of “how is this going to affect me? What is the implication on my life?”
Perhaps that is the Lord’s point. Maybe Jesus commands us to love those who hate us so that our selfish hearts will come to light. Perhaps he wants us to see our hearts as He sees them. Frankly, Jesus did not command us to love our enemies because He was concerned that they should live better. He is not seeking to make them more comfortable or more confident. The command, while it affects others, is like a searchlight aimed directly at our inner being. He is seeking to expose the self-centeredness that lurks within us so that we can wrestle it to the ground and diminish its control in our lives.
How can I be sure of this assessment? Because Jesus also presented a contrast for us in Himself and His own actions:
- He loved us while we were His enemies (Romans 5:8).
- He prayed for us while we were His enemies. Examples abound but do not gloss over His prayer from the cross- “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Today, as we consider that Jesus loved us from “enemies” to “family,” let’s not yield to the temptation to mitigate the weightiness of this command. Let’s not minimize it or make excuses about how “we are just not Jesus.” We are not Jesus, but He lives in us so let’s not proclaim how much less accountable we are. Instead, in light of His love toward us as enemies, let’s allow God to expose and transform our hearts to the place that we can love our enemies, bless them, and pray for them as Jesus did for us. Then, and not one second before, will we know what it is to be like Him.
Like this:
Like Loading...
by chrisaiken | Mar 27, 2017 | Devotions, discipleship, Leadership, Pastor's Reflections, Uncategorized
“He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him.” Proverbs 27:14
Blessing a friend is good. Blessing a friend first thing in the morning is good. Blessing a friend in a loud voice is often good. Put them together and you may become the subject of your friend’s disdain.
There is a right time and a right context for everything. Standing to shout out your school’s “fight song” is good in the stadium after winning the game. It is generally frowned upon in class during a midterm exam.
Many “good” messages have been lost because the messenger did not consider the context from the recipient’s perspective. As one who speaks to groups multiple times per week and without a manuscript, I can tell you that I miss the mark here far too often. Sometimes my “filter” doesn’t catch a thought before it crosses my lips. (That’s not an excuse…just a fact of my present reality).
I wonder how many times we have a “good word” for a person’s situation but it is missed because our timing was off. For instance, a friend’s child is overdue to get home from school and hasn’t answered the phone. Is this a time to comfort your friend or recite recent statistics on child abductions? The answer seems obvious.
Christians mess this up too. “Hey brother, I didn’t tell them anything that wasn’t true! I’m just speaking the truth!” Sure friend, but aren’t we called to speak the truth in love? How is it loving to say what you said, in the way you said it at the time you said it? Did the hearer see your anguish in delivering such a message due to the inherent implications?
Jesus instructed us to be “wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.” Serpents are not powerful but they are hypersensitive to their surroundings. Rarely will a snake dart out from under a bush to attack a person walking by.(Back them into a corner and you may have a different story.) Doves are harmless and pleasant.
So how do I do this? Here are six considerations:
- Be clean. Check your heart motive. Are you compelled to speak “the truth” because you are aggravated with a person or jealous for God’s glory?
- Be aware. Play the conversation through as if you were hearing it as the person you are speaking to. How did you receive it?
- Be humble. You’re not “all that.” But for the grace of God…there go I.
- Be empathetic. Listen. hear. empathize.
- Be gracious. If someone says they “get it” and apologize, taken them at their word.
- Be encouraging. They should feel more emboldened in God’s love after you leave than when you got there.
If you have thoughts, I’d love to hear them.
Like this:
Like Loading...
by chrisaiken | Feb 16, 2017 | Devotions, Uncategorized
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we had redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14).
“Praise God…I’m not what I used to be,” declared the excited old Christian man. What a beautiful, accurate, yet incomplete truth of the Christian transformation.
As a pastor for a while now and as a disciple of Jesus for a while longer, I get the sentiment of the statement. When a person is saved…when he truly realizes the scope of His depravity and the depths of Christ’s forgiveness, it is easy to give thanks that we are not the same wicked people we once were before Christ. This certainly does not imply that we have arrived…as if we have somehow achieved righteousness. In no way can a genuine understanding of the Christian life conclude that anyone we know has achieved righteousness. Even the most saintly senior adult grandmother (who no one would dare charge with a sin) has a heart so desperately wicked that even she cannot comprehend it!
Our nature is rebellious at its core and desperately resists the goodness of God, AND (not but) He rescued us from the domain of darkness…redeeming us through His Son Jesus.WE ARE NOT WHAT WE USED TO BE!
Beautiful and INCOMPLETE
If that were the story, it would be akin to being a murderer who is released from prison. Still a convicted murderer…just free to walk around town and live among a group of people who are afraid they are “next.” Our relationship with Christ is far more though as the verse I shared reminds us. We WERE rescued from the domain of darkness AND transferred to the Kingdom of Christ Jesus! This truth is theologically pregnant with meaning.
Our identity is not so much what we are NO LONGER…but in whose Kingdom we now reside. We were transferred to the Kingdom of Christ. This Kingdom has a King (obviously) and we are not Him (not always so obvious). We are not “freed” prisoners but are now Kingdom citizens! Our new lives are identified with who (and whose) we are rather than what we have done and been forgiven for.
Often I talk with believers who struggle with this. I STRUGGLE WITH THIS OCCASIONALLY! My mind will drift back to the rebellious, self-willed person who ruined his life. If I am not careful, I will linger there too long and lose sight of the truth that Christ found me in my desperation and delivered me into His Kingdom where I gained a new identity. I am not a former rebel…I am a redeemed citizen!
I wonder if today we need to be reminded that we are not struggling to be victorious over our rebellion. Surely we must strive to live up to the name of the Kingdom and its King…we must wage war against the propensity to continue in rebellion (including the latent rebellion of identifying with our past more than our present). We also should be confidently humbled by the fact that He rescued us in our rebellion and, knowing our struggle, He stamped our citizenship paper with a blood-red stamp that said “CITIZENSHIP GRANTED: KINGDOM OF CHRIST.”
Like this:
Like Loading...
by chrisaiken | Jan 10, 2017 | Devotions, discipleship, pastor, prayer, Uncategorized
“The kids are coming!” These words were spoken recently in our home in anticipation of Dillon and Jenn’s arrival for Christmas. That meant getting rid of boxes hidden just out of sight in the guest room. The closet needed to be reorganized. Clean sheets? Check. Fluffed pillows? Check. Dust, sweep…you know the drill. They were not even on the road for two more days but the expectation was certain in our minds as Jodi prepared the guest room.
What if they did not come? What if something went wrong and the Army cancelled leave? What if their truck had mechanical problems? (I know that is far-fetched since it is a Ford and not a Chevy). Sure, any of these things could happen but we had a strong sense that the visit was as good as done even though it was days away on the calendar.
Were we confident? Absolutely. That’s why Jodi prepared the room.
Now hear this nugget I saw this morning in my quiet time.
“Prepare me a lodging, for I hope that through your prayers I will be given to you.” Philemon 22.
Paul is sitting in prison and tells Philemon, “I am certain that your prayers will be heard and I will be with you soon, since you are praying for me.
What confidence on display! Confidence in Philemon and confidence in God! He knew Philemon was praying and He knew God was able.
Here are the thoughts:
- Do others have confidence in your prayer life? Do they know you are praying simply because they asked you to?
- Do you believe (truly believe) that God is stronger than your circumstances? Strong enough to overwhelm reason and logic and cause you to make travel plans while you’re sitting in a jail cell?
Honestly, my prayers are sometimes too tame. They are respectable. I wonder, at times, what it would be like if I prayed boldly like this more consistently.
A pastor serving in a city with a drought called his church to gather and pray for rain. The time of the meeting arrived and the people gathered into the church. And there was one boy who straggled in and sat in the back. He was the only one who brought an umbrella.
Do you carry an umbrella when you pray for rain? May it always be said that we do. Go spread the fame of God today everywhere you go.
Blessings,
Pastor Chris
Like this:
Like Loading...
by chrisaiken | Jan 9, 2017 | Devotions, discipleship, Leadership, pastor, Pastor's Reflections, Uncategorized
Everyone has one. It may be your wife’s brother who knows you are not good enough for her. It may be the best friend who knew you when you did every goofy thing of questionable legality that you cannot talk about due to a statute of limitations. It may be the neighbor who always wants to remind you that his grass is greener and his truck is newer. I am speaking of the person you want to share the gospel with and he will simply not accept it. You package the gospel story in pretty paper with bows on it and he can find three reasons why it is not true. Perhaps the problem is you. Perhaps they’ve not seen enough life change yet to realize that you really have been changed. Perhaps your change reminds them of their moral ineptness and they are not ready to face it yet. What should you do? Keep sharing with humble and gentle hearts…over and over and over again. This is how God pursued you.
The Scriptures give different counsel about another type of person. This one is a professing believer. He is in your small group. He always speaks up at a business meeting. He comes up after the sermon or lesson and explains what he read on the internet that contradicts you or how Andy Stanley did it better. He attends your discipleship class and pushes back on the truth because he sees it differently. He is not trying to learn or gain understanding, but to keep you “humble.” What do you do with him?
First, a teachable spirit, the lovechild of hunger and humility, is a key characteristic of the disciple. Not everyone who SAYS he is a disciple or who attends your church has one of these teachable spirits. What do you do with this guy? Do you continue to repackage the teaching in paper and bows trying to win him over? Do you chase him down to get his blessing?
Sometimes you do. A shepherd is told to be patient and to correct wrong doctrine. But, as Paul instructs Titus, there is a time when the guy who always resists must be corrected. Titus 1:13 says when his actions bring discredit on Christ, rebuke him severely. When he is a danger to others by drawing them astray, shut him down. See, leadership requires movement and change in people. The man who is factious and refuses to move cannot be waited on indefinitely. You, as a leader, must move past him.
“Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.” Titus 3:10.
“He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, and he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer or he will hate you, reprove a wise man and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will be still wiser, teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.” Proverb 9:7-9.
As one old preacher said, “Don’t jump down in the mud to wrestle a pig. Both of you will end up muddy but the pig likes it.” Sometimes you have to simply nod, turn your head, and move forward. Some will follow. Some will not. Let that be God’s business. Know what He called you to do and do it. You may be surprised what happens next.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Recent Comments