Another book review

Time for another book review: Slave by John MacArthur. From the book jacket, "As followers of Jesus, we call ourselves "Christians." But the fact is this word appears only three times in the New Testament. So the Bible uses a host of other terms to identify the followers of Jesus...but there is one word used more frequently than any of these. Slave." With that, MacArthur begins a detailed and exhaustive study of the Greek word doulos which, according to him, has been mistranslated in almost every English version. The word is most often translated as "servant." The premise of the book is that that translation misses the point; and more importantly, influences our entire theology about both God and Christianity.

Regular readers of MacArthur's work will once again be engaged by his exhaustive and scrupulous attention to detail, as well as his in depth overview of the slave culture at the time the New Testament was written. Readers who are new to his work might be a bit overwhelmed at first but the information is presented clearly. This isn't a book that is written just for pastors or theologians; it's a book that is written for every Christian. MacArthur labors to help his readers understand the implications of being a slave of Christ rather than simply His servant.

I found this book very informative and very challenging. His premise is a simple one: "To be a Christian is to be a slave to Christ." He understands the controversial nature of this term in our culture but in his direct style, he confronts this head on. He contends that in order to properly understand our relationship with Christ, and our relationship to the Father, we must take on the mantle of a slave. However, I felt that this book could have been several chapters shorter and made the point more clearly. Some chapters feel like they were tacked on at the end, perhaps in an attempt to lengthen the manuscript. They're informative and enjoyable to read, but at times I struggled to see how they fit with the overall theme of the book.

Slave is a challenging book. The truth it contains is as vital as MacArthur presents it to be, and it should benefit anyone who would read it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Splitting wood and splitting hairs

Got to spend the morning with Owen today. Kelly was in the Little Rock & the girls were at school so it was just me and my boy. And so naturally, we planned lots of manly things to do. Actually just one manly thing. But it was about as manly as you can get-we had to split and stack firewood. Since we had such studly, beastly chores awaiting us we needed to fuel up with a manly breakfast. So we went to the truck stop for a healthy serving of grease, salt, and pork fat (3 of the 6 man food groups, by the way). With our bellies full, we headed out to tackle the job ahead of us.

Now understand that Owen was crazy excited about helping. But after a few minutes of stacking his enthusiasm began to wane. So I, in my wisdom, knew a trick that would get his attention back-I let him chop some wood. Now before you report me for turning a 3 year old loose with an axe, understand that I didn't just give him a pole axe and let him run wild. I gave him a small hatchet, one that he could handle, and lectured him thoroughly about safety. After the lecture it was time for the fun. He set up his first piece and gave it all he had...and almost made a mark on the wood. So he tried again. And again. Seeing that his confidence was getting shaky I did the next best thing. I found a really green piece and told him to chop away at it. And chop away he did. He was having a grand old time. When he got done it looked like a rabid beaver had attacked that stick. And then I noticed he had started "splitting" wood again. And I put that in quotations because he really wasn't splitting wood-when faced with the difficult task of actually splitting wood, he changed the definition. Rather than try and split firewood, he took large pieces of bark that were knocked loose from the wood and chopped them into smaller pieces. Each time he did this he said, "Look Daddy, I did it!" And being the great dad I am, I encouraged him, gave him an attaboy each time.

Now what's the point here? I'm glad you asked. As I watched him redefine success I realized that we often do the exact same thing as we try and serve God. We see what God wants from us, we learn about what He expects of us. And we give it a try. But then we find it difficult. And so what do we do? Do we cry out to God for strength? Do we surrender to Him and let the Holy Spirit work through us to accomplish what we can't? Nope. We do something even better. We change the definition of success. Or more specifically, we split hairs. We call partial success (or even complete failure) success. Want some examples?

We know we ought to read God's word consistently, right? And many of us do. But how often do we spend the day acting on what we've read that morning? If you're like a lot of folks, you read scripture each day not because you want to commune with God, and not because you want God to show you something that you can do to bring Him glory; you read it to check it off your spiritual 'to-do' list. Jesus said the proof that we love Him is that we obey His commands. If all we do is read His word, and don't actually put it into practice, there's no reason to believe we love Jesus. James says that when we hear God's word and not do it, we deceive ourselves. Here's another example.

We know we ought to love others, right? And we say that's important to us. But be honest; nobody's looking or anything. How often do you really love someone and how often do you just fake it? Sadly we often fake it. We put on an outward, look all spiritual and Christian-y but inside we are thinking about how much we can't stand that person. And somehow we've convinced ourselves that this is what God expects of us. But if scripture teaches us anything, it's that God is more concerned with who we are on the inside than with what we do on the outside. If just being good outwardly were enough then the Pharisees would be held up as a standard for all of us. Instead, Jesus vilified them, calling them "white-washed tombs", i.e., pretty on the outside but full of death and decay on the inside. Jesus demands that we love each other. In fact, He says that the way the world will know we are His followers is that we love each other-not with an outward show but with an inward reality.

So what do we do with this? 2 things. First, don't try and change the definition of success. God is perfect, He is infinitely holy. And He calls me to that same kind of holiness. God deserves so much more than half-hearted effort and lazy attempts at holiness. He deserves my soul, my life, my all. May I never dishonor Him by arguing with Him about what He wants for me. He wants perfection. Second, I've got to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. The paradox of Christianity is that God calls me to a perfection I can never attain. And the natural response to that is to split hairs; to change the definition of success. To say, "I did it!" when I actually failed. The proper response is to rest in the work of Christ. To understand that His righteousness has been imputed to me, and that my good works aren't the grounds by which I'm made acceptable to God-the good works of Jesus are. And even though I can't always be who God has called me to be, God knew this when He saved me. And so I rest in Christ. I commit to serve Him, to love Him, to obey Him, to do all that He's called me to do-and when I fail, I cling to the cross, I receive the forgiveness that was made available by the sacrifice of King Jesus. We don't have to split hairs-we have to live in the realization that God has declared us to be righteous, based on the finished work of Jesus. So don't try and make excuses-embrace your weakness and rest in the One who loves you in spite of it.

Father, thank You for Your patience with me. Thank You for loving me not because of what I do, but in spite of what I do. Thank You for providing a perfect salvation in Jesus. Thank You for granting me His perfect righteousness. Help me to serve You with all that is within me; but help me to rest in the finished work of Jesus. Amen.

Kitty Cats, Medical Diagnoses, and Other Things we Can Not Understand

If you've followed my facebook postings the last few days you've seen that I've spent a lot of time praying for one of the families that I shepherd at Beech Street, the Blackwells. In case you haven't, here's a short summary: Dee had been sick for a few days last week. On Sunday afternoon, Allen tried to wake her up and she was unresponsive. She was taken to Baptist in Arkadelphia, then quickly flown to Baptist in Little Rock. As of this writing she has made some improvements-she's off the ventilator and her liver continues to show signs of improvement; however, she still hasn't woken (woke? awoke? awoken? you grammar nerds help me out) up yet.

It's always hard when a family that you love and care for is going through a hard time. It gets even tougher when your kids are crazy about that family. My kids love Ms. Dee. They love going to her house, they love hanging out with her, they love spending the night over there. And so they were naturally a upset to find out that she was sick and in the hospital. Owen asked me, "Why did Ms. Dee get sick?" To which I honestly answered, "I don't know, son." He thought about it for a second and said, "I think it was kitty cats."

I sort of chuckled to myself for a minute, thought that was pretty cute. I also thought it was a little funny that 3 year old Owen was ready to make a diagnosis of Dee's condition. But then I had another thought-I realized that this is pretty much what it looks like when I try to explain why God does the things He does.

Let me explain. Often when things come about that I don't understand, things that I don't like, my first inclination is to try and figure out the reason, to explain why it happened; to diagnose the problem if you will. But there's a passage of scripture that I ought to remember; it's Isaiah 55:8-9 and it says this: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." Now often when that verse is read people will say, "What a cop out." But the longer I live, the more I hold to the fact that this isn't a cop out; it's a humble submission to an obvious reality-God does things differently than I do. He has a whole different way of looking at things than I do. And when things happen that I don't understand-like a dear friend getting dangerously sick-there's no way that I'll figure out why it happened. There's no way I can reason myself to the point where the light bulb comes on and I say, "Now I see, God. It all makes sense now!" Unless God decides to tell me why He has done something, I can't figure it out. I've got as much chance to figure out why God is doing something as my 3 year old does of arriving at the correct medical diagnosis.

Remember when Job was questioning God? If anyone had reason to ask God, "Why did this happen?" it was Job. And for 4 chapters God makes it painfully clear that Job is in no position to question Him. He says, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?", Job 38:1. "Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness?", Job 38:19. "Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars?", Job 39:26. God's point isn't to blast Job for asking a question; His point is to make certain that Job-and all of us-understand that the things that are very basic for God, things like laying the foundation of the earth and keeping the light & darkness in their dwelling places, and teaching the hawk to fly, all these things that are so basic for Him are above our understanding. And if the basic things are above our understanding, how much more are the things that are truly complex-like how God can be glorified even when His people suffer?

And so we're left with a couple options. If, like Owen, I'm completely unable to diagnose a complex medical condition, and figure out all the reasons why an eternally wise and gracious God would allow such a condition to come about, then here's all I can do.

First, understand that God is completely within His rights to do whatever He wants. Psalm 24:1, "The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein..." If the earth belongs to God, and everyone who dwells in it it His, then guess what? He can do whatever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants, and to whomever He wants. Why? It's His. We belong to Him. He has the final say in what happens, not us. Now we don't like that; sort of chafes, doesn't it? But the fact is that the world is God's. And whatever He does with the world is His prerogative. That's easy to say when things are easy; hard to say when one you love is suffering. Or when you are suffering. But circumstances don't affect who God is. So when things happen that I don't understand and don't like, I have to understand that God is completely within His rights.

But secondly, I have to understand that God is trustworthy. Joshua 1:5, "I will not leave you or forsake you." God has promised that He will remain with me. Not just in easy times, but in all times. Psalm 23:4, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil." Why? "For You are with me." God has promised to never leave me. He's promised to never forsake me. And He always keeps His word. So when things happen that I don't understand-and they will; when things happen that I don't like-and they do; I simply have to bow my knee, submit to my King and say, "Not my will, but Your will be done." And I have to rest in His unchanging goodness.

Father, thank You for loving me. Thank You for promising to never leave me or forsake me. Thank You for being big enough to understand the things that I can't. Thank You for being so awesome that you can take times of hardship and trouble and still use them for Your honor and glory. Forgive my unspeakable arrogance in assuming that I can understand the ways of One who is higher and greater than I'll ever be. Forgive me for not trusting in You. Help me to bow before Your sovereignty. And help me to remember Your faithfulness. Amen.

Of Clean Belly Buttons and Other Important Issues

So the other night as I was giving Emma her bath she said, "I want some soap in my hand." When I asked her why she said, "So I can wash my belly button." I thought that sounded reasonable so I gave her some soap and she proceeded to give her belly button as thorough a cleaning as one can give an umbilicus (look it up-or just use context clues).

Now I was certainly proud of her desire to have a clean navel. But here's the problem-that's all she cared about washing. Her sole focus was on her belly button. And don't misunderstand, I'm not opposed to clean belly buttons. In fact, I'm a big proponent of belly button washing. But if all one washes is the belly button, one can hardly call oneself clean. Which brings us to the point.

Sometimes followers of Christ are guilty of this same type of misguided focus. We place all our attention on a certain area and neglect other things that are equally important. Jesus confronted this very problem (misguided spiritual focus, not belly button washing) in Luke 11. He confronts the Pharisees with these words from verse 42. "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." Jesus says, "You guys are focusing all your attention on one area and are so neglecting all the others." And it's important that we not miss this. It's terribly easy for us in our lives to focus all our attention on a few areas. And usually these are outward things, outward displays of our righteousness. Or said another way, a list of "don'ts". And there are certainly some things we should avoid. Problem is, we focus so intently on these "don'ts" that we ignore the "dos." There is so much more to following Christ than outward rule keeping. Jesus wants us to deal with the heart issues. We get it backwards. We want to deal with outward actions and not focus on the inward realities. But here's something that is just as true as anything I can say-God is more concerned about who you are than what you do. Here's why; I can do all the right things and still be unrighteous. If I've never repented of my sins and trusted in Christ alone for my right standing with God, I'm just a Pharisee. I'm just going through the motions. But if I focus my attention on who I am-my thoughts, my desires, my emotions, the inward part of my being-if my attention is there and I am constantly seeking to surrender these to God, guess what happens? It affects what I do.

Again, don't misunderstand-Jesus didn't blast the Pharisees for tithing; He blasted them because they were doing this and not dealing with justice and the love of God. If I'm not inwardly who I should be, then what I do is worthless. And so Jesus says, "Don't focus so much on the one that you ignore the other." Following Jesus isn't an either/or kind of deal. It's a both/and life. I'm not going to choose between either one thing or the other. I'm going to do both to the glory of God. And I'm going to do both with a heart that is surrendered to the will of God, and completely taken with a desire to see King Jesus glorified in my life.

So is it bad to wash your belly button? I should say not. But if you only wash it and nothing else, you can hardly consider yourself clean. And in the very same way, if all my focus is on outward rule keeping and I ignore inward purity then I can hardly call myself obedient.

Father, thank You for caring about not just what I do, but who I am. Thank You for providing a salvation that can change me completely-not just outwardly, but inwardly. Forgive me for focusing so much on what not to do that I neglect what I'm supposed to do. Forgive me for acting like a Pharisee sometimes, and neglecting the weightier matters of Your law. Help me to bring you glory in everything, and help me live in total surrender to You. Amen.

Heaven is for Real

Here's book review numero tres.

Ever wonder about the reality of heaven? I know all followers of Christ claim to believe in such a place but to be honest, we often view it as more of an abstract idea rather than a literal, physical place. In Todd Burpo's Heaven is for Real, though, heaven isn't talked about as an idea or a dream. It's presented as an actual place. And the amazing thing is that all the information was gathered first hand-by the author's 4 year old son.

When Colton Burpo was 4 he underwent emergency appendectomy surgery. And several months afterward, he began to talk to his parents about what he had seen when he went to heaven. As his parents began to talk about this experience in more detail, they were shocked at what they heard. Colton was able to describe things he had seen and people he had met in amazing detail-including long deceased family members he had never met.

Now any book that purports to tell of an 'out of body' experience is always met with much skepticism-especially by me. But after reading this book I have to confess that I was blown away. The descriptions offered by this little boy are amazingly accurate, and line up with the record of scripture. Having said that, this isn't a theology book. It's a book that recounts the visions of a 4 year old boy. But again, all that he says matches up with scripture.

I found this book very encouraging. It's so easy to take the reality out of heaven, when in fact there's no place more real than heaven. This book makes you long to be there, to see loved ones that you've lost; and most of all, to look upon the One who gave His life to secure your place there. Read it with an open Bible and with a large grain of salt-but I'd encourage you to read it nonetheless.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

Transforming Church in Rural America

And we're off with book review #2.

As a pastor I'm interested in anything that will help foster growth in the church. And as a pastor of a church in a rural area, the title of this book was intriguing. The content was even better. I honestly can't remember the last time I read a better church-growth book. And the reason is that this isn't a typical church growth book. It isn't full of flow charts and diagrams (nothing wrong with those things-they can be useful tools); and it isn't just a rah-rah time for the author to pat himself on the back. This book is a challenge to pastors everywhere-a challenge to believe that God can use your church, in your community to do great things for His glory.

The book begins with the author's story, which is a fascinating, compelling account of how he was led from large church in an urban area to a much smaller church in a not-at-all urban area. And in a conversational style, he explains the things he did as pastor of his church-the things that worked great and the things that were spectacular failures. It's as though you were sitting down for a nice conversation with a friend who says, "This is what we've done; this is what worked for us. Take and use whatever works for you."

The author includes many specific ideas (always careful to state that he isn't recommending you do exactly what he did, but that you find what will work in your area), and several links to videos and documents that can offer further assistance.

There's tons of good stuff in this book and I would recommend it to anyone.

Disclosure: I received this book free from the publisher through the www.booksneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. I did so because I liked the book!

Outlive Your Life by Max Lucado

So the other day I signed up at booksneeze.com. They send me books, I review them. Pretty sweet deal. Here's my first review.

"These are devastating times: 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, one billion are hungry." So begins Max Lucado's latest offering, "Outlive Your Life." If you're familiar with Lucado's work, the subject matter might be a bit of a shock. In books like “A Gentle Thunder” and “When God Whispers Your Name”, Lucado primarily encourages his readers. In this book he seeks to challenge them. In his warm, gentle style, Lucado helps open the eyes of Christians who are far too often blind to how the rest of the world lives. Using the early church as his reference point, Lucado helps us see just what an impact these 1st century Christians made on the world around them-not just from a spiritual viewpoint, but from a physical viewpoint as well.

Unfortunately, when you discuss how the church can minister to the physical needs of the world, objections are often raised; usually they sound something like, "The most important thing we can do is preach the gospel!" And on this point, Lucado is very plain; the most important thing the church can offer the world is the gospel of Jesus Christ. But at the same time, when we have opportunity to minister to the physical needs of those around us, we should.

Lucado's book reads quickly and his point is simple; if God created us to make a difference, shouldn't we be making that difference? He skillfully handles this potentially thorny topic without lecturing or condescending. He simply points his readers to the truth of God's word and lets them choose for themselves. This is a challenging book, but a highly recommended one as well.

Disclaimer: In accordance with new regulations introduced by the Federal Trade Commission,I am required to mention that Thomas Nelson Publishers, Inc. has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for the purpose of writing a review. Sending me a free copy in no way is compensation for, or a guarantee of, a positive review.