by chrisaiken | Mar 11, 2016 | Devotions, Pastor's Reflections
Where I grew up, a “sure-fire” way to get into a fight was to talk about someone’s mama. It was the proverbial gauntlet to throw down if you wanted to scrap with somebody. Please don’t ask me why young boys would fight over words unknown to mama while at the same time listening to her lessons about “sticks and stones,” but we would.
Actually, the reason had to do with honor. We (as sons) appropriate the offense to ourselves personally. Talk about mama in front of me…and you are talking about me.
When I married, that sense of defending honor was directed toward my wife. No one talks about “Precious.” No one. I reminded my sons often that she was my girlfriend and before you “bow up” toward her, you have to go through me. I would remind them that I would gladly “take them out” and make a replacement model with her…so don’t ever try to elevate themselves above the special relationship between me and my Precious.
Why defend her? It isn’t that she cannot take care of herself. In fact, the most merciful thing I could ever do for a raucous stranger with a “potty mouth” would be to step between him and my wife. She certainly could handle him and leave him in a diminishing puddle of regret that he ever crossed her. š The reason for the defense though emanatesĀ from my love, passion, devotion and sense of honoring her. She is valuable, therefore an afront toward her must beĀ addressed. In this case (different than the example with “mama” above, the focus is her, and not an appropriated offense toward me). Someone has assaulted the very honor of one I treasureĀ and believe to be of immense value and honor.
This is much close to the heart behind the Psalmist in Psalm 139:19-22:
O that you would slay the wicked, O God;
Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.
For they speak against You wickedly,
And Your enemies take Your Name in vain.
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loate those who rise up against You?
I hate them with the utmost hatred:
They have become my enemies.
The writer is so passionately devoted to God that an offense toward Him is hated as if it were an offense personally. He wants to defend the Name of God because God is of immeasurable value and worthy of limitless honor. The writer will confront the greatest enemy that would dare even utter evil words (through word or deed) toward Holy God.
As I reflected on this today, two thoughts came to mind:
- Sometimes, we care about the afront toward God (at least we say we do) but the real offense is toward us. We hate how sin and sinful pursuits negatively affect us…not how they offend and grieve the heart of Holy God.
- At other times, we don’t voice concern at all over the offense toward God. We say, “God can defend Himself.” Isn’t the question not whether God can defend Himself, but do we honor Him enough to defend His Name when He is offended?
I’d not stand by while someone dishonored my wife. To do so would communicate to her that her value was less than it is. I also would not say, “Did you hear what he said to you? How dare he disrespect ME like that?” I am not the one being attacked and dishonored. She is. And that evokes a strong response from me for her honor.
Should we not honor the God of the Universe in like fashion?
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by chrisaiken | Mar 10, 2016 | Devotions, Pastor's Reflections
I saw something powerful and provoking in the Word this morning:
“Behold, as the servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid looks to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He is gracious to us.” Psalm 123:2.
A servant and a maid are absolutely dependent on the master or the mistress’ benevolence. If the master is cruel or chooses not to provide, the servant goes without. If the servant is well cared for, it is to the credit of the master, not the servant.
Servants do not demand. They serve. Servants do not circumvent. They serve. Servants do what they do in service to the master. Everything. Everything. The servant exists for the master’s pleasure and to fulfill the master’s will.
The Apostle Paul was fond of identifying himself, not as an enterprising teacher or religious elite…but as a doulos, a bondservant. A bondservant was everything I described above by choice. He served because he desired to, not because he was compelled to do so by external forces.
Reflecting on the role of a bondservant and his relationship with the Master, Paul reminds us in Philippians 4:11-13 that he depends upon the Master for everything and that he is content to do so…not based on circumstance, but based on the Master’s PERSON and Paul’s purpose in serving for the Master’s PLEASURE.
So, do you look to the hand of the Master UNTIL He is gracious to you? Do you exist for His pleasure? Or, have you reversed the roles in your mind to think (even though you would never say such strong things) that the Master exists to serve your needs?
God is not having an identity crisis…are you?
Shalom, CA.
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by chrisaiken | Mar 9, 2016 | Devotions, Uncategorized
“Don’t miss the forest for the trees, they said.” A great reminder that we, at times, can reduce our focus so far that we actually lose perspective and, often times, the “wonder” of the bigger picture. As a guy who reads the Bible…a lot…and critically… it is important for me to step back and look at it in “bigger chunks” in order to not forget the overarching idea. By my life’s calling, I analyze Scripture to the most minute of details. This is what some refer to as “mining the text.” It is essential for a teacher, but it is not exclusive.
This morning, I came to Psalm 119 in my daily “quiet time,” and rather than take it in parts, I settled in for the entire thing. (Now reading one psalm doesn’t seem that impressive…until you look at it. If you have to turn the pages more than once, you have a long text).
As I read, I was reminded of the reverence that the Psalmist displayed toward the Word of God. He saw it as ALIVE. He saw it as HOLY. He saw it as an EDICT from a REIGNING KING! The Bible, for the psalmist, is not an op-ed piece or a commentary on life from a fallible man. The Bible is TREASURED instruction and REVEALED TRUTH from the very mouth of God. It is an expression of God’s love. It is able to save (v.41). It guards against sin’s destructive lure and consequence (v.9-11). It revives and restores (v.25) and therefore it comforts (v.49-51).
Perhaps all of these responses to the Word are predicated on this truth, found in vv.89-90:
Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven. Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; you established the earth, and it stands.
Honestly…that is a bold statement. God’s spoken edict stands forever. He is never reversed on appeal. His judgments are true. His truth is triumphant. He is predictable in so many ways because He is FAITHFUL, always, to His Word because He is faithful to Himself.
So, here is the point to consider today– If God is unchanging and He has revealed exactly who He is, how He thinks, what He desires/demands/deserves…and if He has revealed all of that freely to us…does it not make sense to know His revealed Word personally and deeply?
Final thought in verse 11:
“Your Word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against you.”
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by chrisaiken | Mar 5, 2016 | Devotions, Pastor's Reflections, Uncategorized
In my circles, it is a foregone conclusion that falling into temptation or succumbing to sin is deadly. I don’t know any believer (Christ follower) who would affirm that you are “cool” having an affair. I don’t know any, for that matter, who would affirm sin in any form as an acceptable course of action.
So how do so many with such strong convictions fall prey to the allure of the enemy of Holy God? Could it be that we simply walked too close to the line?
That is the point of the writer here in Proverbs 5:8-9. Now the “her” he is speaking of is the “adulterous woman” who is a beautiful, flattering temptress who represents NSA (no strings attached) pleasure (v.3). She is a recurring figure throughout the Proverbs and may seem like the Christian’s greatest enemy. Actually though, she is simply a distracting tool of the enemy; whereas, the greatest weakness of the Christian is simply his own lack of discipline.
In this chapter, we find that the young man knew instruction (v.1) and was accountable to a discipler (vv.1-2, 12-14, et.al). He was aware of the predicted outcome of engaging in sin (vv.4-5, 9-11). His issue is not a lack of knowledge or an ignorance of consequences, but a deficiency in discipline.
“Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house, or you will give your vigor to others and your years to the cruel one.” Proverbs 5:8-9.
The warning is for the man to stay FAR AWAY from the temptation! “Hey pastor,” you might ask, “Isn’t Christ powerful enough to deliver the man from a doorstep?” Sure! The issue is not Christ’s power but the man’s discipline. If he has knowledge and accountability and the Spirit of God within him telling him to stay away from the door (but no woman introduced on the scene)…and he still cannot yield to the voice of Wisdom, what are the chances that he will suddenly strengthen his resolve when a beautiful woman starts whispering “sweet nothings”in his ear?
Not only does the man need to stay away from the adulteress, but he has a positive activity commended to him as well. Vv.15-19 tell him to be satisfied with his own wife.
“Drink water from your own cistern and fresh water from your own well. Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be yours alone and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth. As a loving hind and a graceful doe, ler her breasts satisfy you at all times; be exhilerated always with her love.” Proverbs 5:15-19.
Look at your wifeĀ the way you’d be tempted to look at the adulteress. Determine to focus on her. Remove the rivals in your mind or attention. Give yourself only to her! [Consequently, this is the greatest danger in my opinion with pornography- not that there aren’t good cases to be made for cheapening the imago dei of women posing naked or having sex on camera. Frankly though…again in my opinion, my declared and determined allegiance is to my one wife and to our One God!] If I introduce my eyes or mind to another woman’s sexuality, I create a rival (in my mind) for my wife. How is that ever good?Ā If I dishonor my vows to my wife OR cause another woman to dishonor her vows to her husband or to her Creator’s purpose…how is that ever good?
So…all in all, don’t even get close to thinking about the other woman’s doorway. If you do and you wander too close, the enemy of God will use her to destroy your wife (present or future…in case you’re single and read this) and to provoke you to dishonor the God who created and redeemed you.
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by chrisaiken | Feb 24, 2016 | Devotions, Pastor's Reflections
“It is just a one-time thing. No one will ever know.”
“It is your choice.”
“Seize the day!”
“Choose to be happy.”
These pithy little sayings have the appearance of good and loving advice. It sounds like anything you could hear from a friend as you sit down to a cup of coffee at your favorite Starbucks.
In our me-centered existence that majors on comfort and scoffs at the suggestion of sacrifice, advice like this abounds. After all, who WOULDN’T want to be happy? Why would you choose UNHAPPINESS?
Truthfully, the reductionism in the question alone defeat us from even discovering the answer. Who says your choice is short-term happiness or unhappiness? Is it not possible that there is a third and ultimately God-glorifying option? I want to suggest to you that the right option is nearly always “long-term happiness” or what we might call “Joy.”
Joy is a much deeper expression than happiness. Happines is an emotional response to stimuli. I found something on sale, so I am happy. I got a parking place close to the entrance, so I am happy. Joy is: I have developed a long-term security in my finances so I am covered whether something is on sale or not. I train at the gym and am in good shape so I am great whether I park close to the entrance or far away. Now…don’t be put off by the simplicity of these examples. They simply serve to illustrate a greater truth.
When we choose to make decisions that have long-term benefit, we often discover that we give upĀ some short-term rewards. We don’t do so because we desire pain in our lives. That’s ridiculous. We do so because we want to have joy. We are not unhappy in our present circumstance because our objective extends beyond the present.
“Prepare your work outside and make it ready for yourself in the field; afterwards, then, build your house.” Provers 24:27.
Here, the writer gives us a principle: You can choose to get your house ready so that you can be comfortable indoors (which is pretty important); or, you can prepare your field (which is time-sensitive) so that you can get the crops in the ground. While they are growing, you can build your house. Then, at the harvest, you will have both produce to eat and a house to eat it in.
Many people miss this. Financially they choose the opposite fo the Proverb. “Let’s go on vacation today to Disney…even if we have to charge it. The kids will only be little for so long! Sure, but now there are a ton of things you cannot do for the following months because you charged an expensive vacation. When the stove went on “the fritz” you had no funds to repair it so you had to charge the replacement on an in-store credit. Now you have enormous debt and you cannot be faithful to other and more important obligations.
Sure, you were happy at Disney. But you had no produce at theharvest. It would have been better to dial it back to a camping trip in a park or take a “stay-cation” and save your cash. Then, next year, you could have enjoyed both Disney and long-term satisfaction. That is Joy.
I want to enjoy sex with someone now…but doing so means I cannot enjoy sex within the design of biblical marriage as intended later. Choosing abstinence now doesn’t equate to choosing drudgery now…it equates to worshipful obedience now and greater God-designed enjoyment later. That is Joy.
Today and tomorrow and the next day, choose Joy…and be happy doing it.
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by chrisaiken | Feb 8, 2016 | Devotions, Uncategorized
Over the past four months or so, I have experienced an increased sense of urgency in my life. A sense of urgency for the Gospel. In me was rekindled an awareness that life is short, death is certain, and then comes the judgment of God for every man.
Now in case you want to write this off as a doomsday article, hear me out. An awareness of the transitory nature of life is not in itself bad or harmful. In fact, it may be the antidote to procrastination.
Every school project I “put off” growing up…was directly related to the belief that I had another day to do it. I have always worked well with deadlines. Saying “get it to me when you can” is like saying, “If you never get to it, it is okay.”
I wonder if one of the contributing factors to the anemia of the American church is a sense of self-sufficiency and no sense of urgency?
The Psalmist thanked God for placing in his heart a sense of his own transience:
“Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.” Psalm 39:4, NASB.
Truthfully, I think we would all live a little differently if we believed we only had a few and fixed number of days to live. I think we would live better, love more, and seek eternal blessing rather than the temporal distractions of comfort. Frankly, this does not appear to be a new observation. Throughout the Scripture we find a call to urgency and an indictment against pursuing temporal pleasures that wear out, rust out, or are destroyed by the curses of this world.
Today, live like there is no tomorrow. Do it for the Glory of God.
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