What Does God Require? part 4

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good. - Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Today we will look at the next instruction from this verse, that we are to love God. There is a lot that can be said about this simple command, so I will try to highlight some other Biblical passages that provide us a robust picture of what it means to love God. As you're probably aware, the original languages of the Bible have more than one word for "love." In English, we say that we love pizza or we love a particular TV show or we love our country or we love our children. Obviously, those are different types of love. Let's look at some other scriptures that help us understand what loving God looks like.

1. Love God Not Just For What He Does, But For Who He Is.

Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! - Psalm 150:2

God does incredible things. Creation, common grace, healing, provision, comfort, and...oh yeah, SALVATION!! It is good for us to love God and praise Him for His incredible works, but the scripture doesn't let us stop there; we are to also praise God for who He is. Think about the attributes of God: eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, compassionate, merciful, wrathful, patient, just, righteous, loving, etc. Those are but some of the attributes of God that we are to love. If we only love God for what He can do for us, that type of love is ultimately selfish and will leave us frustrated when God doesn't always do what we want. But if we love God for who He is (and remember that He is is unchanging), we will never be left disappointed.

2. Love God Not Just With Your Emotions, But With All Of Who You Are.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. - Mark 12:30

In our culture, "love" is almost exclusively defined as an emotional experience. We say that we've "fallen out of love" with someone, meaning that the emotional high of the initial love experience isn't there anymore. The Biblical definition of love includes the emotions to be sure, but it is much bigger and deeper than that. We are to love God by learning about Him intellectually. (I have written before about the fact that if you love something, you will learn about it). We are to love God by persevering through difficulties and dry seasons. We are to love God by being disciplined to seek Him through scripture and prayer. Again, the emotions are very important but they are not the definition of what it means to love God.

3. Love God By Obeying Him

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. - 1 John 5:3

Plain and simple, we demonstrate our hearts through our actions. It would be no good for me to tell my wife and kids that I love them with my mouth but never go to work and provide for their needs or never defend them against harm or never show them physical affection. If we claim to love God, we will learn what pleases and displeases Him and seek to bring Him joy. *VERY IMPORTANT* This obedience must first spring from an understanding of the Gospel. You will not impress God and earn your place in His family with your amazing works. In fact, the Bible says that even our best deeds are like filthy rags in God's eyes. But once you understand that the cross and resurrection mean that you are already accepted by God because of what Jesus did, it frees you from the burdensome toil of trying to measure up. Once we have understood the gospel, we are now free to keep the commandments of God out of loving response to the love that He has already shown.

4. Love God By Resting In His Love

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. - John 15:9

I don't know about you, but the above verse gives me a avery strong sense of peace and rest. Here, Jesus is assuring us of His love, letting us know that He loves us the same way that God the Father has loved Him. Our proper response should be to relax, to rest, to trust in that love. Our love toward God should not be anxious or fearful; God has demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Rest. Relax. Enjoy. Abide. Live in His love. Experience His love day by day.

I'm quite certain that there is much more that could be said about what it means to love God, but the above points should give each of us something to think about, to wrestle with, to pray about. There is nobody who loves God perfectly, so we all have some way that we can grow in this area. I'll simply close this blog out by echoing the prayer of Paul found in Ephesians 3:

[I pray] that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

What Does God Require? part 3

We're continuing to go through Deuteronomy 10:12-13 with a fine tooth comb. Today, I want to address the next phrase in the list of requirements from God:

Walk in all His Ways

I remember when I first learned how to water-ski; it was a terrifically awkward experience. Every time the boat started to pull forward, my natural inclination was to straighten out my legs, lean forward, and stand up on top of the water. There was a slight problem, however: that is the exact opposite of what a person needs to do to go from the floating position to being up on top of the water. No matter how many times my teacher told me to lean back, keep my knees bent and relax, I just couldn't find it in myself to do it. Only after several hours of trying (and several gallons of lake water going through my nose) was I finally able to water-ski successfully.

A lot of hobbies and activities are like that. It is very awkward and unnatural to learn how to play an instrument or swing a golf club or shoot a basketball properly. Most every one of us have experienced, at some point or another, the frustration of learning to do something correctly when it goes against our natural inclinations.

When it comes to how we live our lives, our culture preaches a message of "do whatever comes most naturally to you" or "just be yourself" or "you gotta do you." The problem is, like the beginner water-skier or violinist, the proper way to "do life" often runs against our natural inclinations. When God instructs us in this verse to "walk in all His ways," I think it's a bit like Him telling us "I have a way that I want you to live your life, but I want you to know that it's going run against your natural inclinations. Because of your sinful, fallen nature, you think you know how your life should operate, but I have a better way. It's going to feel awkward, it's going to frustrate you sometimes, but in the end, it leads to the truest life that you will ever find."

Does this surprise you? Doesn't it make sense if God is perfect and we are imperfect that our paths would diverge at some point? Proverbs 14:12 says "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." Last week, when driving around an unfamiliar city with my wife, I thought I had a sense of the way back to our hotel, but in the end it led to...well, not death but just a golf course. Much like how our external sense of direction can get messed up, our internal moral compass is easily misled. Only the heart that is submitted to the ways of God will be able to navigate the twists and turns of life successfully.

This verse is intensely practical. It means that our day-to-day activities should be challenged by the teachings of the scripture. It means that our emotional reactions to life events should be challenged by the scripture. It means that we should daily, hourly seek the guidance of the Spirit as we face our daily and hourly tasks and situations.

It also means that we must rely daily upon the grace of God as we know that we will not always "get it right." Salvation is not a matter of works but of grace. Once we understand that our salvation is a gift from God, it frees us up to pursue God's ways out of a sense of love for Him. Our pursuit of God's ways will not be an arduous climb or a life-sucking task list, but a joyous, life-giving pursuit of the God who has made us and knows best how we ought to live our lives.

Video Blog, "Faith: Staying or Leaving?"

In this video, Aaron talks about his recent decision to move to Seattle and explores how faith looks in the life of different people.

What Does God Require? part 2

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good. - Deuteronomy 10:12-13

This week, I'm working on memorizing the above verses. As these verses are incredibly dense with meaning, I thought it would be a good idea to carefully go through these verses with a scalpel. In the last post, we explored the idea that God's requirements for us are evidence of His love. Deism is wrong, God is active and involved. Today I want to explore the next small piece of this verse, "...to fear the Lord your God."

What Does It Mean To Fear God?
The fear of God is a major theme of the Bible. In Proverbs, it says that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Paraphrase: you don't know jack unless you've first learned to fear God. In Luke 12, Jesus tells his followers to not be afraid of those who can merely kill the body, but rather to be afraid of the one who has the authority to cast into hell. Just so we're clear here, that is in reference to God. Not Satan, not your pastor, not your neighbor, but only God is the judge who has the authority to grant eternal life. Fearing God is apparently quite important, but we need to unpack and explore what it truly means. I have outlined below (via numbered list, of course) several of the markers of a healthy fear of God.

1. Awe
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? - Psalm 8:3-4

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you bumped up against the power of nature and suddenly felt your insignificance and smallness? Like Matt Chandler says, nobody goes up to the Grand Canyon and suddenly feels compelled to brag about their scholastic or career accomplishments. Or have any of you musicians ever seen a really, really good concert and been overwhelmed at how good the players were? Has it ever made you feel pretty puny or like you wanted to quit playing? Part of what it means to fear God is to overwhelmed with awe at His immensity, His greatness, His incredible attributes. We should be awestruck by God.

2. Respect
...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. - 1 Peter 3:15

We live in an incredibly rude and disrespectful society. Our entire culture looks like MTV's Real World slogan: "Find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real." Rudeness is actually heralded as a virtue because "at least you're just being honest." Even toward earthly rulers - presidents and kings - we have lost any sense of respect for those in rule or authority. You can buy shirts at the mall that say "Bush is a Dumbass." Jon Stewart called President Obama "dude."

Now, I'm not advocating that we should speak to God in King James English or that we have to dress a certain way to show respect to God. The issue isn't about external things like words or clothes or rituals; the issue is the position of our heart. God is the true King over all the other kings, presidents, prime ministers, and rulers. He places rulers in their place of authority and removes them at His discretion. We should reject any treatment of God that is bossy, demanding, childish (not child-like), or disrespectful.

3. Trust & Obedience
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares 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. - Isaiah 55:8-9

I'll be honest: sometimes I just don't get God. It seems like the way He runs the universe is different than I would do it. I suppose that's a good thing, because my own house is not always in order. I have mold growing in my garage. Fearing God means that we mentally give assent to the fact that His ways are better than our ways. This is trust. But trust does not exist in a vacuum. Real trust, real faith means that our actions must match. This is the obedience part. I could say that I trust a bungee cord, I could even believe intellectually in the strength and elasticity of the cord, but if I'm not willing to jump I've just revealed that my heart doesn't really trust it. It is scary to hand over control of my life to someone else, but trust and obedience are two very important aspects of walking in the fear of the Lord.

4. Actual Fear (Like Being Afraid)
But the LORD of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. - Isaiah 8:13

Electricity is a really good thing. It helps our lives immensely and has changed the way we do literally everything. However, when I see linemen working on the power lines near my house, I get a little queasy. While useful, electricity is also incredibly dangerous. The power that electricity represents should give us caution before we just treat it however we want. The same is true with God. His power should cause us to be cautious in how we think, speak and act before a Holy God. If you are willfully behaving sinfully, you should fear. If you are mocking the grace of God, you should fear. We should fully embrace the goodness, grace and mercy of God, but make no mistake: God will not be mocked. (Gal. 6:7).

I love the way that C.S. Lewis writes of Aslan in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe:

"Is - is he a man?" asked Lucy.

"Aslan a man!" said Mr. Beaver sternly. "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion, the Lion, the great Lion."

"Ooh," said Susan, "I thought he was a man. Is he - quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, abd make no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver; "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the king I tell you."

Conclusion
There is much in the scripture that teaches us about the closeness, the familiarity of God. Jesus teaches us to pray to God as "Abba," the Aramaic equivalent to our children saying "daddy." The Holy Spirit is spoken of as our Comforter. Jesus promised to never leave us or forsake us. The disciple John is said to have been reclining up against Jesus at the table. I get it, I really do. God has revealed Himself to us as being close to us, loving and approachable.

But, without a proper fear of the Lord in place, we can easily swing into self-importance and self-sufficiency. Hebrews 1 says that the entire universe is upheld by the word of His power. Think about that. At this moment, water is still behaving like water because of God. Grass is growing right now because of God. My computer is functioning on electricity right now because of the word of God's power. Not a molecule in the universe is out of God's sight at this very moment. I can't even find my freaking ear buds today. He alone is God. I am not. He is awesome in power and should be rightly feared. A proper understanding of the fear of God makes His invitation to approach Him like a little child all the more unbelievable and scandalous.

Our fear of God should not paralyze us or cause us to shrink away from Him. Rather, we should run with abandon into the arms of the one who is more powerful that we can ever understand and more loving than we could ever comprehend.

What Does God Require? part 1

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good. - Deuteronomy 10:12-13

I have an iPhone app called "Fighter Verses." The app was put together as a way to help people memorize certain key verses from the Bible, these 52 "Fighter Verses." The app is really well done and I highly recommend it, but that's beside the point. This week's verse comes from Deuteronomy 10, and it really struck me as valuable. Maybe I liked this verse so much because it comes in the form of a numbered list, my favorite information delivery technique. I thought I would take a couple of blog posts and go through this verse with a fine tooth comb. The more I have meditated on these words, the more densely packed I see them to be. This post will only cover the first 12 words.

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you?

This verse records Moses speaking to the people of Israel after God gave Moses the second set of the 10 Commandments. In Deuteronomy 5, Moses gathers together all the people of Israel and launches into a lengthy speech to the people, instructing them in the ways that the Lord has set before them. Moses is asking this question as a way to teach the people of God, clearly and succinctly, how God desires us to be in relationship to Him.

Many people in today's culture live their lives in some form of deism. Deism is the general belief or understanding that there is a God who somehow made the world, but that God is very distant and uninvolved. In the deistic view, what God really wants and requires of us is to figure out life on our own. God started this whole universe project, but has now abandoned it and left us in charge of everything. Many enlightenment thinkers, including the majority of America's founding fathers, were deists; this is why our cultural awareness is steeped in do-it-yourself-ism. It's as thick as the air that we breath. This worldview certainly encourages hard work but certainly fails to take into account the God to whom we are actually responsible.

Right from the beginning of this verse, we are confronted with the idea that God requires something from us. This is not a particularly popular message to speak today, but it is truth. We were created by God and for God. Everything that was created was made by Him. Our next breath, our next heartbeat is dependent on God. When God speaks and lets us know what is required of us, we had better pay attention.

I find great comfort in knowing that God requires something from me. I find it comforting because it means that God is not distant and uninvolved. It means that God is a good God, a good Father who cares about us, our lives, our actions, and our treatment of other people. It means that God loves us enough to not leave us alone. The ultimate form of hate is indifference, and God is clearly not indifferent.

Rather than recoil in "American-do-it-myself-self-sufficient" horror at the thought of God's requirement, I encourage you to find comfort in these verses. God is treating you as His child. Embrace Him. Submit yourself to Him. He is good and He has your ultimate good in mind.

In the next post, we will explore what it means to "fear God."

Moving To Seattle - pt. 2

Since we announced that our family would be moving to Seattle, I have received a tremendous amount of love, support and encouragement. I thought I would take this opportunity to fill you in on a few specific details that have been nailed down over the past few weeks.

1. I have been accepted to an internship at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. This is a 25hr per week unpaid internship (more on this below). The start date is August 1st.
2. I will also (most likely) be doing the Resurgence Re:Train program at Mars Hill simultaneously. The program and the internship were designed to work together to equal a 40hr week. The start date for this is August 8th.
3. My family will take off on July 18th. July 17th will be my last Sunday at City Church. Erin Lynn and the girls will be flying and I will be driving the van filled with my guitar stuff and other odds and ends.

Many of you have also asked if there was anything you could do to help. As a matter of fact, yes! Here are some ways that you might be able to be a blessing and help our family.

1. Buy my stuff. We are selling pretty much everything and starting fresh in Seattle.
2. Help with a garage sale. I will be doing a sale on Saturday, May 14th and will need help that day as well as on Friday the 13th (!) for setup.
3. Painting, etc. We are going to rent out our home and she needs a fresh coat of paint plus a few other minor fixups. Once the garage sale is done and the house is more empty, this will be easier.

Finally, some of you may feel inclined to contribute financially. As you saw above, the internship and school are all unpaid. We would love to avoid racking up any student loan debt for this school period and we will be asking for sponsors. One-time donations are welcome, but we will also be asking for regular monthly donors for the 14 months of this internship. We will have some income from the rental of our house, plus I will be able to do some part time work, music teaching, etc., but we will need some sort of extra support for this season. I will have more specifics available in a few weeks, but for now just prayerfully consider supporting my family financially either with a one-time gift or regularly.

How Should We React To Osama's Death?

By now, the information is old news: Osama Bin Laden is dead. Information moves at the speed of light and only those who have their electronic devices turned off have not had the last several hours to deal with, to process the news that one of the most evil, hated, despised men in modern history has met his demise. Reading through all of the posts on Facebook and Twitter, it is clear to see that there is a wide range of reactions to this news. I would like to propose a framework that could be helpful for Christians as we react to this incredibly historical event. Perhaps the best word I can think of to use for our reaction would be "mixed."

1. Sorrow

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the LORD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? - Ezekiel 18:23

Like it or not, Osama Bin Laden was a human being, created in the image and likeness of God, albeit severely marred and disfigured by the effects of sin. The people of God, like God himself, should not be glad that an image-bearer of God has persisted in his wickedness until his death. No Christians should take delight in the thought that someone will spend eternity in torment, separated from the grace of God.

2. Joy

When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness. - Proverbs 11:10

We do not rejoice in the death of the man, but we do rejoice that he is no longer able to inflict evil and suffering upon others. The Bible, from top to bottom, is very concerned with the idea of justice. Most average people are also - at least in theory - concerned with the idea of justice. When a person has been dishing out violence upon violence for years, there is a fitting place for gladness that they have met justice.

3. Humility

[Jesus said], “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:2-4

Jesus, in these verses, was responding to certain Jews who were elated with the idea that tragedy had struck "those bad people." It is all to easy to become overjoyed when God's justice is meted out again those who are wicked in our eyes. What is easy to overlook is our own wickedness. Jesus says "repent."

4. Submission to Government

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. - Romans 13:1-4

I am fully, personally, firsthand aware of the flaws in our legal system, but we should really pause for a moment and be thankful for the privileges, freedom and security that we have as Americans. I have freedom to post a blog like this with no fear of retribution other than one of you readers griping at me electronically. I'm thankful for the police and the soldiers and all the others who "bear the sword" to offer us humans a spitting chance at a modicum of freedom.

5. Urgency

This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. - Acts 4:11-12

I am fully convinced that the only hope for the nations of the world is Jesus. Part of the reaction that we should have to Osama Bin Laden's death is a sense of urgency to proclaim the good news of salvation to all mankind. The nations rage, people plot, darkness grows darker, violence increases, but the Word of the Lord must be proclaimed to every corner of the earth.

One final note: I find joking and mockery at this point to be in bad taste. Psalm 2 speaks of Most High God looking at the schemes of wicked nations and mocking them, holding them in derision. My perspective on the matter is that mockery/derision is one of those things, like vengeance, that belong to God. There may be a time where God's people, like Elijah, are invited to mock false religion and superstitious belief, but death is not a time for gloating.

I also see the practical implications of this right now. Do you remember when certain people in Muslim nations celebrated and passed out candy on 9/11? Let's not stoop to that level. Let's not take the joy that we may have in this wicked man's death and descend into petty joking, even if the joke is about Trump or Obama or Palin or Chuck Norris or Where's Waldo or anything else. All the joking is ill-timed, in my humble opinion.