How will we ever become all things to all people unless we cross this important barrier into the world of technology?  Here’s a little article I wrote for Lutheran Education Association’s “Shaping the Future.”  My goal is to help us leave behind some potentially fatal assumptions about technology and those who use it.  Please, let me know what you think!

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Philippians 4:6

In addition to looking back over 2011 and being thankful for God’s provision we are encouraged to look ahead to 2012 with THANKSGIVING for all that God will do in the future!  What will God bring in this coming year that deserves your thankful prayers  today?

Sean McDowell: The Hidden Price Tag of Porn

Here are some staggering statistics from this research:

87 % of men admit to using porn in the past year, and 69% of men report viewing it at least once per month.  Those numbers are totally unacceptable for a civilized society, and the rest of the article shows why this behavior is so damaging to many aspects of society.  Please take the time to read it, and discuss it with people in your sphere of influence.

It’s time for men to end this behavior, and start acting like men.

If you have paid attention to the current news regarding Penn State’s atrocious handling of past crimes against children you’ll know that sins of omission can be just as bad as the sins that we commit.

Men had the opportunity to protect children, and they failed to act.  We pray for justice to be done, and most importantly for the victims of these atrocious crimes to be healed in every way.  I also have begun to pray for my own ability to act, and to always be ready to act decisively when an opportunity to help crosses my path.

O, Heavenly Father, You are the Protector of all.  Lord, make me ready to act.  Prepare my heart, mind, and body.  Equip me with courage, boldness, and confidence.  By the power of your Spirit, use me to act, and to act decisively, for the protection of the weak and vulnerable in our society.  May I never stand by and look the other way when it’s time to act.  In Jesus name; Amen.

While it can be hard to see at times, I really believe this verse.  Here are some examples that I see in the recent October Nor-Easter of 2011:

+ Countless wood piles are being filled for those who burn wood to heat their homes and provide for their families as a result of all the downed trees.

+  Quality time gets spent with family members who cannot be attached to electronic devices of all shapes and sizes.

+ Relationships are newly forged or reignited with neighbors we usually pass in the night.

+ People have the opportunity to serve their neighbors in various ways enabling them to grow in the grace of giving.

+ A renewed sense of what is really important can be noticed when lives are at stake.

+ A renewed sense of thankfulness for the ‘little things’ can direct our praise toward God more frequently.

Have you noticed any other ‘good things’ that came from the storm?  Please share them in a comment below.

Imagine that you are going to enjoy a fresh tomato from your vine to go on top of that juicy grilled burger next summer. In my life I just go to the grocery store and buy my tomato. In biblical times you actually had to grow one. It starts with the preparation of the soil many months before any fruit is produced. Seeds are planted. Seeds are watered. Seeds are waited upon. Sprouts shoot up. Birds are kept away. Weeds are controlled. Plants are watered and fertilized and watched. Plants grow. Buds form. Plants are pruned for a more abundant harvest. Plants continue to be watered, weeds continue to be controlled, pests continue to be monitored and fought. Finally fruit forms and begins to ripen.

Note that this process takes months to develop. A tomato doesn’t just show up in a day or two like we would imagine in our immediately gratified society. What would one eat while waiting for the tomato to go from seed to fruit? Last year’s crops, if there was enough. Supplies are running short by the time the fruit begins to ripen. Will you have enough food to get you into the new crops that are currently ripening on the vine, or will you go without for a week or two before the harvest is ready?

Finally, the first fruits are ready! You’ve been nurturing these plants for months and now the tomatoes are beginning to ripen into that delicious red hue! You are ready to take your first bite! It’s an exciting time to be sure. But, it is also a stressful time as you count your harvest and hope that there will be enough to provide for your family for the entire year to come so that you can continue through the next crop cycle.

In this exciting and stress-filled time God steps in and says, ‘Bring me your first fruits.’ It is the ultimate sign of trust. I have a decision to make now. I can eat my first fruits, or collect those tomatoes and can my world famous red sauce, or I can trust and obey God’s way by giving away the very fruit that means sustenance and provision for me and my family. To give the first fruits is to show total trust in God. Anything could happen to the rest of the crops. A hail storm, insect plague, drought, or other calamity could strike and I would be left without food. When I give the first fruits I trust that God will provide. That can be a hard move to make. It goes counter to my instincts. It goes counter to my financial planner. It goes counter to our immediately gratified culture. It shows incredible faith and trust in God as the ultimate provider.

Give it a try sometime. Give to God first and to credit cards, savings, college funds, grocery stores, internet providers, phone bills, and entertainment later. Show God your trust and watch Him provide abundantly! Wait an extra week or so for that slice of tomato and the juicy burger…you’ve got to wait for the beef and bun anyway since you’ve given your first calf and bushel of wheat as well! What great trust you have in God! He will provide.

I never thought of it that way before! Obedience happens because we TRUST the person who is asking us to do a specific task. My kids will obey me if they trust me. A basketball player will listen to her coach if she trusts that he knows the game. A soldier will go into heavy combat when he trusts his commander. Most importantly, we obey God when we have our trust in Him.
That means those times when I don’t obey happen in part because I don’t trust God. I don’t give generously as I should because I don’t trust that He will provide like He promises. I don’t share His Word boldly because I don’t trust it to work. I don’t pray because I don’t trust Him to hear and answer.
Obedience flows from a deep seated trust in the One who directs us. The question isn’t really about me and my ability to obey, but about God and the level of trust that He deserves. Which accounts in the Scriptures prove to you that God is worthy of TRUST? In the comments section below note an account, and even the chapter and verse if you have it. I’ll try to write some more thoughts on TRUST this week…Here’s a verse to start with:

Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.”

Wow, that sounds a lot like the message I learned today: Obedience happens when we Trust God…today I learned that from a 4 year old!

Here is my long-winded response.  What do you think?

Hello,

That’s a great question.  At the heart of it is the whole idea that sinful humanity cannot be in the presence of a Holy God and survive.  This is shown in the verse Ex 33:20, “for no one may see me and live.”  But, in just 9 chapters earlier we see Moses and the 70 elders viewing God and living.  What’s the deal?

It seems that there are maybe three options that I could think of:  1. They didn’t really see God.  2.  God was wrong in Ex 33:20.  Or, 3.  God graciously granted an exception.

I doubt it is that they didn’t really see God.  Ex. 24 is pretty clear that they saw Him.  The passage says so, Why not take it for what it says?  There are no clues otherwise to suggest a different reading of this than that they did actually see Him.    Moses even adds a note in verse 11 that suggests that he found this incredible:  “But God did not raise his hand against these leaders.”  This seems to indicate that Moses realizes this was a unique situation, and that God SHOULD HAVE raised his hand against them, but for some reason didn’t.  This is one thing that leads me to believe that #3 is correct, that God granted a gracious exception.

I definitely don’t believe #2 that God was wrong, or that there is some inconsistency in these verses that would negate the validity of the book of Exodus or the Bible.  Some people spend their lives looking for such things from a human viewpoint, but I would rather spend mine in search of the truth from God’s viewpoint.

Another reason I think God granted a gracious exception is that there are a couple other examples of people in the Bible who also saw God and give strikingly similar descriptions:  Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1:26 and John in Revelation 4.

This is a really interesting question because it touches on one of the central themes of the Bible: the presence of God among sinful humanity.  In its essence is the story of Jesus…that on our own all of humanity is separated from God due to our sin, and in order to fix that God hides himself in Jesus so that all who believe in Him will not perish, but can have eternal life in God’s presence again.  The gracious exception in Ex 24 points to the HUGE exception that God makes for us in Jesus.

The whole topic of seeing God and living or not brings up the central story of Christianity…In the beginning God created everything good and in Genesis 1-2 God walked with Adam and Eve in the Garden…He was with them face to face without any problems…in Genesis 3 they fall into sin and the FIRST thing they do is hide from God.  Immediately we see the result of sin is a separation between God and humanity.  The rest of the story of the Bible is God who hides himself graciously for our sake.  Because a perfect and Holy God can’t be in the presence of sinful humanity without humanity being destroyed; God graciously hides himself.

There are lots of examples of God keeping hidden:  Burning Bush (Ex 3), Pillar of cloud and fire (Ex 13-14), protects Israelites by blood of the lambs on the door frames at the Passover when the Angel of the Lord strikes the first born (Ex 12).  Each is an example of God hiding himself graciously for the sake of the people He is helping.

Later on you read about the guy who touched the ark of the covenant which signified God’s real presence in the midst of his people…he got zapped.   A Holy God cannot be in the presence of sinful humanity without hiding himself for their sake.  Even into the New Testament we see God communicating with people through mediators.  God shared the news of the birth of Jesus to Mary, Joseph, Zachariah, and the shepherds by sending his angels as messengers.  In Old testament books like Jonah, God sent human prophets with messages for people from Him.  God uses mediators as a gracious way to communicate with people.

Most importantly we see God hiding Himself in human flesh at the birth of Jesus.  While Jesus displays his glory occasionally through miracles and at the Transfiguration most of the time He looks like an ordinary guy and people can approach Him face to face without getting fried.

You get a little taste of His power in the Garden of Gethsemane when He says, “I AM” and the crowd of soldiers and Jewish officials with their clubs and torches fall on the ground. (John 18:5-6)  But, most of the time it’s safe to come to Jesus.  Hebrews talks about how Jesus opens the way for us to approach God. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

The people of Israel actually built a huge curtain in the temple in front of the place where God promised to dwell.  The curtain was a real buffer between God and the people so they could worship Him safely without getting killed.  Only the High Priest, and only ONE day a year (the Day of Atonement) could go back there into God’s presence.  On Good Friday we’re told that the temple curtain was torn in two at the death of Jesus.  This is evidence that Jesus’ death has opened the way for us to be able to approach God without fear.

Another key passage is Colossians 1:15-23.  In here Paul writes about the fact that Jesus = the Father.  He is the image of the invisible God (vs 15) He was responsible at creation (16) (The source of all life (vs 17).  And, in verses 19-20, it says that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus for the purpose of reconciling the whole world to Himself.  The fullness of God means that Jesus = God, and instead of more separation due to sin, Jesus came to defeat sin so that we could be reconciled, and made one with God again.  So that by his blood, shed on the cross (vs 20), we can be presented in God’s sight as holy and without blemish and free from any accusations (vs 22).  When we stand before God without blemish and free from accusations we don’t have to fear getting destroyed because of our sin…it’s gone and we’re in a right relationship with God again. It’s just like Adam and Eve before the fall into sin.

The whole story of Christianity is seen in this question of a person being able to stand before God face to face.  On our own, we can’t because of our sin.  But, by God’s grace through Jesus we can.  The question for each of us is, do I believe that on my own I can’t stand before God because of my sin, and do I believe that Jesus’ death makes me unblemished and free from sin so that I can stand before God for eternity?