The Silent Poison of Isolation

I recently received some bad news.  I learned that a man I greatly admire was drawn into a very deep sin.

I was sick.  Physically sick.  I wanted to leave work.  I wanted to cry.

Destruction.  There is so much destruction.  Families.  Careers.  Coworkers.  Peers.  The scores of lives who had been influenced by a great man.

I do not wish to paint a portrait of hopelessness and despair.  There are enough of those in circulation already...let the world help you find one.  But I do not wish to paint a superficial landscape of cheap grace and shallow forgiveness either.

I want to sound a warning.  I want to crank the air raid sirens.  I want to caution those who would flirt with the edge of a precipice.

Sin will kill you.

It will consume your very soul.

No sin is to be taken lightly.  No temptation should be shrugged off.  But sin is not often obvious.  It won't look like a trap until you are desperately ensnared.  It won't seem painful until your life is bleeding away.  You won't seem responsible until you've sabotaged the very people you care about the most.

We are most vulnerable when we are alone.  Ask any Wildebeest.  A lion will always be incapable of attacking a large herd of animals.  But he finds success when his prey has become isolated.  When you are alone you are outmatched.  This has always been true.

Eve was alone in the Garden.  Moses was alone with the Egyptian.  David was alone on his roof.

Isolation is a silent poison.  It will numb your senses.  It will blur your vision.  It will bend the truth.

It will kill you.

We live in an isolated society.  In a recent survey, a majority of Americans said they struggle with loneliness.  But our malady is self inflicted.  We sequester ourselves with movies, smart phones, Netflix binges, ear buds, Facebook, sports games, hobbies, Starbucks, or thousands of other distractions.  Insert yours   here  .

When you are alone, there is no one to keep you from walking off a cliff.  No one to take your keys when you shouldn't be driving.  No one to take you to the hospital when you've cut your arm off.

When you isolate yourself, you are an easy mark.

I Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 

 So when are you isolated?

When you're in the car on the drive home?  When your parents leave for the weekend?  When no one sees your addiction for what it is?  When your coworker "harmlessly" flirts with you?  When you're in front of the computer at 2am?

Thankfully, there is another way.

Colossians 3:5

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Community.  Accountability.  Brotherhood.  Hard questions.  Harder answers.  Admission of guilt.  Pleas for forgiveness.  True repentance.

None of these things takes place in isolation.  Will power and resolution are not enough to effect healing.  Restoration is possible by the work of the Holy Spirit and the caring hand of a brother.

Friend, do not be deceived.  You will not isolate yourself and avoid its pitfalls.  You will not place your hand in fire without being burned.  Sin, like an onrushing train, cannot be ignored.

Maybe you lack the means to fight isolation and sin on your own.  I would even assume that you do.  Would you be bold enough to ask for help?  Ask for prayer?  Ask for advice?

Community is the antidote that can counteract the affects of isolation.  Let us fight together.

Lord, give us the grace and the boldness to be ruthless with sin.  Show us how build each other up.  Teach us to build walls against temptation.  Help us to build together.  Erect your Kingdom in our hearts.  Amen.

 

Response to Matthew 5

I think that "fulfill" here means two things.  

First, Jesus is the fulfillment of the law.  That means that the entire law/levitical structure was pointing towards Him.  After His death and resurrection, that structure was fulfilled, or completed.  We're now under the new covenant, bound by grace and not adherence to the levitical statutes. 

Second, He fulfilled the law by explaining the law.  His teaching expounded the conventional understanding of the law.  Meaning, as God, He clearly taught what was meant by the law when it was given (by Himself).  

The most important example of this is His usage of Hosea 6:6:

Matthew 12:7   New International Version (NIV)

7 If you had known what these words mean, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’[a](A) you would not have condemned the innocent.

Matthew 9:13New International Version (NIV)

13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a](A) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”(B)

His aim here is the spirit of the law.  In both contexts He is addressing Pharisees who have called Him on the carpet for superficial "violations" of the law.  They've missed the point.  

Mercy trumps the moral high ground.  Mercy trumps being "right."  Mercy is better than sacrifice or piety or religious stature.  The point of the law is MERCY.  Mercy most clearly demonstrates who God is.  And the Pharisees completely missed it.  

Does this mean the law is gone?  Nope.

Romans 5:19-21New International Version (NIV)

19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man(A) the many were made sinners,(B) so also through the obedience(C) of the one man the many will be made righteous.

20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.(D) But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,(E) 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death,(F) so also grace(G) might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life(H) through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So Jesus said your righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees to enter the kingdom of heaven.  No one can ever do that!  Except Jesus.  

Here comes imputed righteousness. 

So the law maintains God's justice.  If there was no price for sin, God would not be just.  He would be a lazy Father raising bratty children with no consequences for their actions.  

However, God is merciful and just!  So because of His mercy, at great cost to Himself, He satisfied his own perfect standard with a perfect sacrifice.  Because of Jesus’ sinless life, death, and resurrection, we are under the law of His grace!!  Jesus’ righteousness is counted as our own, meeting God’s standard for perfection while our obvious imperfection is perpetually covered by the grace of Jesus. 

So God is just.  God is mercy.  The law is fulfilled.  The law is satisfied.  We receive grace as we are being made more like Christ until the day we are perfected (completed) in Him.  

Matthew 5

In Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, He says that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them.

Let's look at the passage:

Matthew 5:17-20, ESV: "¹⁷ Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

What did Jesus mean when He said He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets?

How does this relate to mankind as far as ethics, morality, and behavioral accountability before God is concerned? Are we still held accountable for obeying the Laws of the Old Testament, or are we held accountable only for obeying laws given to us in the New Testament?

This may seem elementary, but there is a lot of confusion and debate over this. Having an understanding of this is crucial for determining how we ought to live.

-Breck

The Nature of Worship

People are naturally worshippers.  It is what we do.  We can worship a sports team, significant other, pastime, celebrities or heroes...and the list goes on.

I think God created us to be worshippers.  It seems that our natural inclination is to find something we enjoy and worship it.  God has graciously allowed us the choice of who or what to worship.

I won't raise the question of whether or not we should worship God (for now at least).  I'm simply going to assume the answer is yes.

But even assuming that we are designed to worship God, how do we go about doing that?

I did a brief survey of "worship" in the Bible and found that there are several different ways or modes of worship.

1) Bowing in respect or reverence
2) Prayer
3) Sacrifice and/or Giving
4) Music (instrumental and vocal)
5) Fasting
6) Fixing your thoughts
7) Teaching/Learning

These are only some of the ways "worship" is used in Scripture.  But it got me thinking.  Just because these are the examples I find in God's Word, worship is by no means limited to the items on this list.

Now I want to be careful here.  I'm not implying that worship is what you make it or that you can approach God in worship on your own terms.  Just ask King Saul (I Samuel 13) or the Sons of Korah (Numbers 16).  But what I do want to think towards is how we can worship God unconventionally (for lack of a better term).

What I mean is this:  in an American context, we usually limit "worship" to what happens in a church during a Sunday morning service.

And while a church service should contain worship (see list above!), I'm extremely uncomfortable limiting this idea to an activity or even a place.

Here's my point.  I want you to find, or better yet, discover a different way that you can worship God. Jesus said He is looking for those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth.  So those become our guidelines:  in Spirit, and in Truth.

What does that look like in your life?  Or maybe, what do you want that to look like in your life?

God is creative.  We're made in His image.  That means we're creative by nature.  I believe God designed us to use our unique gifts to display His glory like a mirror.  And when we do that...we worship.

I like to write.  Short stories.  Poems.  Free verse.  I'm not saying its any good, and most often I don't even share it with others.  But its a natural form of expression for me.  When I am being creative and writing, it seems worshipful.  Like I'm doing (part of) what God made me to do.

Eric Liddell, an Olympic runner, once said “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast!  And when I run I feel his pleasure.”

So what's your thing?

How can you use your gifts in worship?  How do we blend our gifts to worship together??

Let's talk about it.

The Question of Being

"In Him we live and move and have our being."

The ancient Greek philosophers Heraclitus and Parmenides had opposing ideas regarding the question of being.  

Heraclitus posited that every thing is in a constant state of flux.  No thing remains the same.  He is famously attributed with the quote, "You can never step into the same river twice."  The river, the water, the earth, the bank, they are all constantly changing.  Even were the river to remain the same, you cannot, for having stepped once in the river, you would be older upon reentering the stream.  

Contrasting the thoughts of Heraclitus, Parmenides proposed simply that "Whatever is, is."  He placed no faith in the opinions of mortals, allowing that a thing either exists or it does not.  

These two thinkers both grappled with the concepts of actuality and potentiality.  For example, were I a university student, I would possess the potentiality to become a college graduate.  But without actually doing the appropriate coursework and completing credit hours, this never becomes a reality.  

The concept of becoming is the critical focus of these philosophers.  What does it mean to become something?  How does the becoming happen?  Is becoming a real or a theoretical state?

What are you becoming?  Where does your potential lie?  How would you define yourself in terms of actuality?  and then potentiality?

Where does Scripture play into this discussion??  In what ways is mankind different than God as it relates to potential/actual?  What do you believe our "being" was designed for?

So that's a lot of questions.  Let's hear some of your answers.  Comment or email me and we'll get the ball rolling.  And thank you guys for being a part of the dialogue!

En Archae

The search for truth is not is not a new concept.  It is well worn path, trod by countless generations.

Wisdom.  Truth.  Answers.

The human soul is hungry for these things.

Things that cannot be bought.
Things that cannot be fabricated.
Things only acquired by experience and by Revelation.

My aim is to find truth, find answers, and obtain wisdom.  I wholeheartedly believe that this is not only possible but that it will come to pass.  However, this is not something I can do on my own, or by myself.

I am not smart enough.
I am not strong enough.
I am not persistent enough.

Devotion.

I want to devote myself to finding, obtaining, and implementing truth.  This is wisdom.

Wisdom does not occur through force or through reason.  No, wisdom occurs through community.  This does not mean community determines truth.  Truth is not subject to change.  Rather, community discovers truth.

What is my aim?  What makes these words, and our time mean something?

My aim is to start a conversation.

I want to walk with my brothers, living life together.  Asking questions together.  Seeking answers together.  Discovering wisdom like a hidden world in a wardrobe.  Pondering mysteries.  Probing the universe.  Using thought, dialogue, reason, literature, science, and every other God given tool under the sun to understand Him better.  To understand why I am here.  Why we are here.  To know what is our purpose and in finding that, fulfilling our purpose(s).

But I cannot do this alone.  I need space.  We need space.  And space is what I aim to create.  This is a space for you and a space for me.  A space to think.  A space to dream.  A space to question.  A space to create.

Edification.

That is the goal.  I want to invest in you and you in me so that brick by brick, by God's grace we build something together that will last.  Something eternal.  Something significant.  That's what I want.  Significance.  I want my days to have meaning.  My work to be worthwhile.  My time to be well-spent.

So let's spend time.  Asking questions, finding answers, enjoying purpose.

I invite, no, I challenge you to become involved.  Make this your space.  Ask your questions.  Think your thoughts.  Speak your mind.  Take part in community.  Make wisdom your own.  And walk with your brothers.