THE BLOG
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- Perspective 2
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My Three Favorite Perspectives
There are many struggles we commonly share in our sin-cursed, self-focused, and satanically-permeated world.
A few that stand out to me are guilt, discouragement, anxiety, and fear. Have you felt the sting of these crushing blows in your life lately? They can be incessant and oppressive.
The good news about our faith is God! He always has an adequate provision simply because He is the God of “all things” (Mark 10:27) who “can do all things” (Job 42:2) and causes “all things to work together for good” (Romans 8:28) and for His glory (Romans 11:36).
Here are three of my favorite truths that always provide a clear perspective when life throws me a curveball.
Justice Served
Few missed the announcement of the verdicts in Minneapolis on Wednesday against former police officer Derek Chauvin who was found guilty of the death of George Floyd. Mr. Chauvin received the presumption of innocence and due process of the law as our flawed system worked in a way that many critics thought impossible.
You Were Picked
Let these rich words by Dr. Michael Horton, Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary, sink into your mind, “A church is not a group of friends you’ve picked. It is a group of brothers and sisters God has picked for you.”
Have you ever thought about this truth? Take a moment and let it sink into your mind.
Now let’s think about some of the implications:
Never?
OK, were you taught like me to never say never or always? Why, I would ask my mom? Because it’s rarely true and doesn’t build loving relationships.
But wait a minute!
God doesn’t follow that rule.
Just coming off of Easter, I love what Paul said about Jesus: “Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him” (Romans 6:9).
Check out a few things on God’s never list:
Always Hopeful!
You can virtually summarize hope in one word: resurrection.
It is claimed that humans can live a little over 45 days without food, slightly over 3 days without water, and about 4 minutes without oxygen, but no one can live without hope.
Researchers tell us there’s an array of debilitating consequences with hopelessness (insomnia, headaches, fatigue, chronic pain, increased risk of heart disease, weight loss or gain, nausea, inflammation, decreased libido, exacerbates chronic illnesses, gastrointestinal problems). Research also reveals some great advantages to being hopeful (reduces physical pain, boosts circulation, improves cardiovascular health which is preventative for heart disease).
What a Savior!
This next week we begin what is known as the Holy Week or The Passion Week of Jesus Christ.
The gospel writers record 45 different events, teachings and interactions during the final week of Jesus Christ between the Triumphal Entry and our Lord’s burial.
It is recorded in Matthew 21:1-27:66; Mark 11:1-15-47; Luke 19:28-23:56; John 11:55-19:42.
I encourage you to read through the Easter Week in Real Time as presented in this article by Russ Ramsey, or watch these short videos of each day of the week by Justin Taylor.
Two things jumped out at me about our amazing Lord as I read the opening few verses of the account of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem when Jesus is presented as Israel’s King (Matthew 21:1-11, 14-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19)
Bored?
I subscribe to a weekly Fast Facts email from Christian Ministries International that provides some relevant and practical resources in contending for the faith and growing confidence in sharing the gospel. (I recommend you subscribe.) The ministry is led by Jason and Jared Carlson (whose father and founder, Ron, came to Christ’s Church and equipped us with some excellent apologetic tools back in the late ’90s and early 2000s before the Lord took him home in 2011).
This past week, Jason and Jared shared something different. They addressed a non-apologetic subject they entitled “Boredom in Church.” I thought their words were insightful, instructive, and worthy of passing along:
Uh-Oh! Words Matter
“Uh-oh.”These words were spoken by Kim Beede, a board member of Oakley Union Elementary School District in Oakley, Calif., after learning during an online board meeting that the meeting was being publicly live-streamed. Thinking they were speaking in private, four board members had spent several minutes criticizing and joking about parents in their district. “They want to pick on us because they want their babysitters back,” one board member quipped. The entire board resigned Friday, February 19th, amid a public outcry two days later.
Love/Hate Cancel Culture
Did I just hear that some of Dr. Seuss’s books, Mr. Potato Head, and The Muppets were the latest victims of cancel culture? Really? Who’s next? Chick-fil-A for being closed on Sunday?
Cancel culture is out of control, yet we do need to make a distinction between two very different versions. One I love and the other…I hate.
The one I dislike (to put it mildly) is like a religion with sins (disagreement with public narratives no matter how insane), commandments (thou shalt not dissent), trials by fire (public shaming by the cancel mob), and burnings at the stake (being fired, dropped, boycotted). But what it doesn’t have is grace or forgiveness.
