Jun 2, 2021
S
I felt like my last Selah episode 47 didn't fully address the
issue of being extreme and wanted to share some additional
thoughts.
I'm not retracting anything I said, and hopefully I don't
contradict what I said, but rather expand on the topic.
Last week, I said that generally living in moderation is what
we should strive for, with the only possible exception being living
out our faith, and in that part or our lives we should be
extreme.
I'd like to start this episode by defining the term extreme,
since it can mean different things to different people and with
different contexts.
One definition from Dictionary.com is "of a character or kind
farthest removed from the ordinary or average"
With that as a reference, here are some things I don't mean by
being extreme about our faith.
First, I don't meant that you're vomiting religion, i.e.
every sentence that comes out of your mouth contains something
overtly spiritual or religious, like "Praise the Lord", or "God is
good" or "Amen".
Second, it doesn't mean that you've accumulated more works or
good deeds than the average Christian.
Third, it doesn't mean that you intentionally pursue
conflict with others over your faith.
These 3 things could be a fruit or result of being extreme the
way I'm recommending we be, but they don't inherently make us
extreme, they may just make us offensive.
Here are a few passages to ponder on concerning a "godly
life".
Micah 6:8 "He has shown you, O man,
what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love
[d]mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?"
1 Thess 4:11-12 "that you also aspire to lead a quiet
life, to mind your own business, and to work with your
own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk
properly toward those who are outside,
and that you may lack nothing."
Prov 17:11 "Better is a dry morsel
with quietness, Than a house full of
feasting with strife."
Isaiah 30:15 "For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of
Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.”"
Isaiah 32:17 "The work of righteousness will be peace, And the
effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance
forever."
That sounds like a good life, doesn't it?
Matt 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all
you who
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am
[f]gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For My yoke
is easy and My
burden is light.”
John 10:10b "I have come that they
may have life, and that they
may have it more abundantly."
These passages all sound like a wonderful life, this
Christianity, don't they? You might even be inclined they
don't expect much from us, but just to believe and wait for heaven
or the rapture whatever comes first.
Let's look at a few more passages:
But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to
the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of
God.”
Matt 19:29-30 "29 And everyone who has left houses or
brothers or sisters or father or mother [
a]or wife or
children or [
b]lands, for My
name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal
life. 30 But many
who are first will
be last, and the last first"
Luke 14:26-27 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate
his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and
sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My
disciple. 27 And whoever does not bear his cross and
come after Me cannot be My disciple."
Mark 10:21 "Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to
him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell
whatever you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up
the cross, and follow Me.”
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone
desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to
save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake
will find it.
Matt 7:13-14 "“Enter by the narrow gate; for
wide is the gate and
broad is the way that leads to destruction, and
there are many who go in by it.
Because narrow is the gate and
difficult is the way which leads to life, and
there are few who find it."
Here's another powerful passage from the Sermon on the Mount
describing the narrow way
Matt 5:38-44 "“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you
not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your
right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone
wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him
have
your cloak also. 41 And
whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him
two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who
wants to borrow from you do not turn away.43 “You have heard
that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate
your enemy.’ 44
[o]But I say
to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do
good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you and persecute you
These passages which seem to be somewhere between unreasonable
and very difficult, may seem like a different life than the first
batch of passages which included an easy yoke and a light burden,
but I believe they are 2 sides of the same coin. In all these
passages, Jesus is calling us to a life that clearly fits the
definition of extreme we discussed earlier "of a character or kind
farthest removed from the ordinary or average". That's
because average in our world is following Satan because he is the
ruler of this world. Just as God wanted Israel to be set
apart, or holy, as a nation, we are to be set apart, ambassadors in
a world that is not our own.
You may have heard it said that following Jesus requires nothing on
our part, and at the same time requires everything.
I agree with that statement, even if it's not a direct quote
from the Bible. Here's a passage that eludes to that,
Galatians 5:20 "I have been crucified with Christ;
it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for
me."
What I believe all these passages describe is a life centered
on and submitted to Christ.
1 Cor 10:31 "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever
you do, do all to the glory of God."
I can honestly say I've loved doing every one of the
interviews on this podcast. I love hearing different faith
journeys and different personalities and approaches to walking out
being a follower of Jesus and I continue to be humbled and inspired
by the faith and commitment of everyone I've interviewed.
Two of the men I've spoken with really struck me
as having found peace in being totally submitted to
Christ and incorporating their faith into every aspect of their
lives. One is Jason Davis and the other Cam Arnett. One
of my questions I had for Cam was how he split up his time between
reading the Bible vs. entertainment like watching movies. His
response was basically that he didn't think of life that way, and
that everything he did was about loving and glorifying God.
To me that is extreme in a very positive way, and while I can't
honestly relate to that, I want that kind of life and that kind of
faith.
Before I leave this discussion, I wanted to also comment on
the issue of uncovering the Mysteries of God.
We had a discussion at our church recently about Kaballah and
basically that it is a Jewish pursuit of mysticism and something to
be avoided. It got me thinking that sometimes I fall into the
trap of thinking that being a hard-core Christian is about seeking
and knowing the mysteries of God.
I believe God leaves plenty in His word for us to dig deep if
we desire to and He is pleased by this. For those of you who
have studied the teachings of the late Chuck Missler, you know he
is a great example of someone with a passion for God. He is
also someone who believed that studying God's word can lead to some
fascinating discoveries including codes and nuggets in the Bible
that leave you appreciating that the Bible is not just another book
and Christianity is not just another religion.
I also believe that God's will is not for us to
unlock all His secrets and that just as with Eve, Satan can tempt
us by a constant pursuit of knowing what God knows. God wants
us to be humbled by the fact that He is God and we are not and that
we will never on this earth, limited by our humanity and by the
fallen nature of this world we live in, know what God knows.
Deut 29:29 NKJV says "29 “The secret things
belong to the Lord our God, but
those things which
are revealed belong to us and to our
children forever, that we may do all the words
of this law."
I think some red flags in this area include any kind of pride
we may take in knowing something spiritual that others do not and
spending more time pursuing mysteries through non-Biblical
sources.
Now, am I saying we should not seek to know everything God
wants us to know in His word and to live out what the Bible says
and not traditions of men? Absolutely not. note the 2nd part
of that verse "those things that are revealed belong to us and to
our children forever, that we may do all the words of the
law." That gets me back to my original assertion that
moderation is a virtue. We can err in one direction by being
spiritually lazy, thinking of our faith as a ticket to heaven and
to just enjoy ourselves and our personal pursuits while on
earth. And we can err in the other direction and be a
prideful believer who compares ourselves with others, following the
law but not the spirit of the law. Rather we are to worship
in spirit and truth, and by doing so we will be radical and extreme
by the world's standards.
E
Young man came out to inspect our house to give a quote
on installing a vapor barrier in our crawl space. My wife
asked "so we won't have to worry about any mold or moisture issues
once this is installed". I don't remember his exact
words in response, but basically he said that wouldn't promise that
but rather that this would help. He and I had a brief
discussion before this which convinced me he was a believer in
Jesus Christ and it just struck me that this was a high integrity
way of selling his product and a good example of faith at
work.
I wanted to also mention a resource, Follower of One. A
friend shared it with me and it's a way to interact with others on
the topic of faith at work.
L
The glory of young men is their strength, And the splendor of
old men is their gray head.
Proverbs 20:29 NKJV
This is just a reminder that whether we are in the beginning
of our work career, toward the end, or somewhere in-between, we all
have value and something to offer in our work glorifying God.
A
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see
TruthUnedited.com History of Religion Series ep#62
is about Roman Catholicism. I've got a link in the shownotes
but I thought I would take a break from going through tips from Ben
LaCorte
-
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H-John Shirey-Time Management
Saw a meme recently. Fit is hard, fat is hard. You
choose. Self-imposed captivity can free you.