Monday, November 24, 2008

God Looks at the Heart

Most of us are quite familiar with David of the Old Testament. We know the story of his fight with the giant and his failure with the flesh. We know of the beautiful songs and Psalms that he wrote and we know the story of his kingship. I always have enjoyed reading the story of when he was chosen by the prophet Samuel to replace Saul as king.

Samuel could have easily passed over young David as a potential king had he not listened to the clear instructions that the Lord gave him. By human standards, David was a young shepherd and not a likely candidate for such a position. However, the instructions to Samuel were clear:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

‘The Lord looks at the heart’ is a beautiful statement and one that we should often be reminded of. One of the greatest weaknesses of human nature is to make judgments based on the external. God is not the God of the fashion show, the ‘in’ crowd, or the upwardly mobile. He is the God who knows the heart and He cannot be bought or impressed with material things or physical beauty.

In year 177AD in the city of Lyon, France there was a young, frail girl by the name of Blandina. She was a slave girl owned by a Christian and both were placed in captivity because of their faith. Blandina’s friends were fearful that she would deny Christ during her torture because of her frail frame and quiet disposition. They were looking only at her body and not at her heart.

Eusebius gives a full account of Blandina in his book on church history written in 325AD. He notes that this frail young girl endured some of the worst torture that was ever invented in the evil hearts of men. She was abused in every way imaginable, and yet, her executioners became exhausted “as they did not know what more they could to do her.” In every instance of abuse, pain, and humiliation, she would cry out “I am a Christian and there is nothing vile done by us.”

Finally Blandina was taken to the amphitheater in Lyon to face the crowds and the beasts. They beat her, roasted her over a fire, and had her thrown before wild bulls that threw her into the air with their horns. At last she was put to peace with the thrust of a dagger. This frail young virgin inspired countless others to hold fast to their faith in spite of horrendous suffering.

Today the ruins of that amphitheater can still be found in Lyon, France. There is a pole and a plaque that honors Blandina and the others who died there. The pole is a reminder that many were tied to it and were devoured by wild animals. When Blandina was tied to the pole the animals would not come near her, which is why they roasted her and threw her to the bulls.

Young, small, and frail, but with a heart huge for God, our sister Blandina is a great reminder that God looks at the heart. God sees beyond all that is external and knows what is brewing in the soul. God knows that inner strength is more useful and noble than physical strength. Maybe somewhere along the way Blandina had read the words of Paul written to the Christians at Corinth, “Be on your guard; stand firm; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.”

I know this passage says, “Be men of courage” but let’s be honest. There are more women of courage in this world than men. I am speaking here of spiritual and moral courage, of course. As I have traveled to many parts of the world I often wonder where the work of the Lord would be without the women. Yes, there are times when the men have been killed off or have been taken away into slavery leaving the women there to stand firm. But there are more times when the women are just more inclined to the things of the Lord. They rise to the top spiritually because they are more committed to the Lord.

The importance of women in the spreading of the Gospel and the building up of believers in the history of the church is undeniable! Even today we can look at our churches and see that in many ways the women are the backbone of the work that is being done. And, it’s not just the work that they do; it’s the spiritual insight that they bring to the Body. Yes, it’s true there are some women who are just mean-spirited busybodies as the Bible says, but there are greater numbers who love the Lord, stand firm in their faith, and help move the Kingdom forward. The spirit of Blandina is still in the hearts of many women here and around the world.

Whether you are male or female you cannot help but read of Blandina and wonder how you would have done. When you read about how they locked her in a metal grate and set about barbequing her, do you wonder how you would have behaved? I think about that a lot and I have come to the conclusion that God gives grace in those situations and that if I only know God as a creed or a story from an ancient book, then I will fail. To stand strong in the face of torture, or job loss, or deteriorating health, one must truly know the Lord Jesus Christ in his or her heart and life.

I have said a thousand times, it’s hard to trust someone you don’t know so we must get to know our Lord so much better!


God Bless You,

Dan

Copyright 2008 Eternity Minded Ministries

Monday, November 17, 2008

Defending Our Faith

Both my wife and I noticed the picture on the Internet of a young mother buying a gun the day after the election. In the interview she said she was afraid that President-elect Obama was going to pass laws against guns. She wanted to be able to hunt for food and to defend her family. One-day gun sales records were broken on that same day as people rushed to buy guns while they still could for the purpose of sport and defense.

The word ‘defend’ is used in sports, military, self-protection, legal proceedings, and oral examinations. Webster’s Dictionary also gives us a definition in regards to personal beliefs: “To maintain in the face of argument or hostile criticism, to prove valid by answering oral questions.” We can defend our homes and our families but can we defend our faith?

Over the last few decades so much emphasis has been placed on Christians sharing their story, their conversion story that is. There is no doubt that our story of what Christ has done in our lives is a very useful tool. There are times, however, that I sense that this is the only tool we are teaching our people to use. It is helpful to read the works of people like C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, J.P Moreland, and Peter Kreeft to see that logic, philosophy, reason, and a good understanding of history and Scriptures are tremendous defensive weapons for our faith.

Justin Martyr was a pagan. What I mean by this is that he was not a Bishop like Ignatius or Polycarp. Justin was born in 100 AD in Palestine to Greek parents. He received the classic education of his day and was drawn to Greek philosophy. We know that he was successful after his education because he owned land and traveled a fair amount. But his study of philosophy caused him to be restless. He forever wanted to find the meaning of life, to find truth.

Justin’s own personal testimony is that he was walking along the seashore one day and an old man appeared to him. They began to talk and the stranger told Justin that he would never find what he was looking for in human endeavors but only by divine revelation. The old man met Justin on his terms, philosophy, and reason. He had Justin thoroughly engaged. Finally, this old man made the point that truth is from God and that God can be known. He went into his explanation and defense of Christianity, starting with the Prophets and prophecy and ending with Christ on the cross and the resurrection. Justin was converted that day and became known as one of the greatest defenders of the faith in the second century.

Justin noted in his writings that after that day on the seashore he never saw the old man again. There is a part of me that wants to believe it was an angel standing there reasoning with Justin, and maybe it was. However, there is also the thrill of knowing that God the Holy Spirit put another Christian on the seashore that day to talk with him. God knew how Justin’s mind worked and he placed someone there who could talk in philosophical terms.

Reading the works of Justin Martyr I am also amazed at how much this old man knew about the Old Testament and the current teaching of Christ. He was a student as well as a teacher. I have found in my life that the best teachers are by and large still students. They still have the desire to learn and to appreciate that learning makes one a better teacher. There is nothing worse than sitting in a class, a class of any kind (or church for that matter), where the material sounds like it has been neatly packaged for many years with nothing new added. It’s like the teacher who has been using the same lesson plans for years without bringing in new thoughts from history or from current affairs.

Are you still a student? Let me be more specific, are you still a student of the Trinity? Are you repeating clichés and phrases that you learned decades ago, or are you a student? I see people carry their Bibles to church with pages underlined from decades of church services and Bible studies and I wonder how much they have really learned. How much is being lived out in their lives?

Peter wrote about suffering even when doing nothing to ‘deserve’ it. He indicated that this kind of suffering would open a door for the Gospel. He says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.”

The old man shared Christ in this very way although he was not suffering at the time. He knew what he believed and he could defend it and he could do so with a kind heart. Yes, sharing our testimony is a great tool, but why don’t we develop other tools for God’s glory? Peter says that we should all be prepared to defend our faith, This means we should still be students--forever learning.

My son just took an oral exam for The California Highway Patrol. They asked him situational questions and he had to give reasons for the actions he would take. What if we were only allowed into heaven after an oral examination from the Lord? What if the question was not “Why should I let you into my heaven?” (which I don’t think the Lord will ever ask), but rather “Give me the reason for the hope that you have”. What if in order to enter heaven we had to defend our faith? What if we had to give the whole of salvation’s history from the Old Testament into the New? What if the correct answer was more than just “I have Jesus in my heart?”

Yes, Justin was martyred for his faith around 165 AD, but not before writing two famous works that you can easily find. “Apologies” was written to the emperors and “Dialogue” was written to his Jewish friend. Through Justin we can see how an early church layman defended and defined the faith. He is an example to us all.

God bless,

Dan

Copyright 2008 Eternity Minded Ministries

Monday, November 10, 2008

The Good Old Days

While preaching at a supporting church recently, a wonderful couple I know handed me a copy of Life magazine. They passed it along to me because it had an interesting article regarding evangelism in Africa. As I read the article I could not help but be fascinated by the advertisements in the magazine because this issue of Life was dated June 2, 1947!

Back in the 1940’s, Life magazine cost a mere 15 cents, which of course, caught my attention right away. There were ads for a bottle of Coke for 5 cents, a tooth brush for 23 cents, a cigar for 11 cents (not that I smoke), a woman’s blouse for $3.00 and a man’s suit for $29.50! Ahhh . . . the good old days! Actually, those days were before I was even born. We can all look back to certain eras that we would call the ‘good old days’ even if our memories have been sanitized a bit.

I was speaking to someone recently about his church plant and he talked about his desire to go back to the ‘good old days’ of the early church. He wanted his church to be like it once was. He went on to talk about the concept of the house church and how there was no pastor, and everyone just loved each other. That’s how he viewed the early church.

The reality is that the early church was not a free-for-all like we imagine. Even before the Apostles departed this earth there was an established hierarchy with bishops, presbyters, and deacons. From the earliest days, the bishop’s main function was to keep careful watch over church doctrine. Yes, well before 100AD there were new churches springing up all over the place that did not teach the doctrines that Peter, Paul, John, and the others had passed along as coming directly from Jesus Christ.

Bishop Polycarp was one such man who fought hard against intrusive heresies. He, along with Ignatius, was instructed by the Apostle John and possibly by some of the other Apostles as well. He had spent time with many of those who had listened to the teaching of Jesus. He was born in 69AD and lived a very long life dedicated to Christ and the purity of doctrine.

Polycarp was ordained the Bishop or ‘overseer’ of Smyrna, which is now Izmir, Turkey. You might well remember that John wrote of this church in Revelation. We don’t know a great deal about his life other than what we can glean from the historical writings of Ignatius and Irenaeus. We do have one authentic and surviving letter that Polycarp wrote to the Philippian church. I have read the letter and was intrigued by it due to the fact that he quoted verses from 17 letters that we now have in our current New Testament. It is awesome to see the standard that he upheld as Bishop.

All Protestants, Catholics, and those of the Orthodox Church appreciate and honor Polycarp. It was his death that so moves us and causes us to reflect on our own lives. Even in Rome the hostile crowds knew him as ‘The great teacher of Asia’. Like his close friend Ignatius, Polycarp was condemned to death by fire. It was his first famous quote that brought the sentence of death. When commanded to turn his back on Christ he said, “If you imagine that I will swear by Caesar, you do not know who I am. Let me tell you plainly. I am a Christian.” It was his second, more personal defense, that has been quoted in every century since his death. Polycard boldly stated, "Eighty-six years I have served Christ, and He never did me any wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"

Polycarp died at the age of 86, which was incredibly old for that period of history, especially for a Christian in the age of persecution. He was faithful to the end. One can almost imagine the words of John ringing in Polycarp’s ears as they lit the fire:

“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” I John 5:2-5

He was to die by fire, but when the fire was lit, it would not even burn him so they took his life by stabbing him. John recorded the words of our Lord to Polycarp’s church in Smyrna, “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Polycarp took those words literally and was faithful in death even as he had been in life.

How faithful are you to the Lord now while you have your health, prosperity, and there is no danger in sight? We want to think that we would stand firm in the end, but are we standing firm for the Lord while we are on this journey? The French missionary Fenelon wrote: “It is only by fidelity in little things that a true and constant love of God can be distinguished from a passing fervor of spirit.”

Are you being faithful to the Lord in the little things? Are you faithful to His church? Are you a faithful friend? Are you faithful in doing what is morally right? Is your heart faithful in love for the Lord or have you divorced the Lord to follow other things? Are you faithful in sharing your heart, your hurts, and your helplessness with the Lord? Are you faithful in the giving of love to others even when there seems to be no reciprocation? Are you faithful in “doing unto others as you would have them do for you?”
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The death of Polycarp strengthened the church. His teachings and the way in which he faced death spoke volumes to the early church that was being butchered. Let me just close by asking: Do we really want to go back and be like the early church with all that bloodshed? If in our lifetime these things should happen to us, like Polycarp, would we be able to stand faithful to the end?

Stay faithful to the end,

Dan

Copyright 2008 Eternity Minded Ministries

Monday, November 3, 2008

Ignatius

In 1994 three college students at Albright College were watching actor Kevin Bacon in the movie "Footloose". That movie was followed by another Kevin Bacon movie called "Quicksilver". In the boredom that came from being shut-in during a heavy snowstorm, they began to muse about how many actors or actresses were connected to Kevin Bacon in some way. Out of their creative minds came the game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon". According to Wikepedia, "The game requires a group of players to try to connect any film actor in history to Kevin Bacon as quickly as possible and in as few links as possible."

The real point of the game shows us how small of a world we really are. The phrase "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" is now accepted as a quick way of saying, "Hey, did you know so and so knows so and so, who knows so and so?" Kevin Bacon said that he hated the game at first because he thought they were making fun of him. Now he embraces it and even formed a charity last year called SixDegrees.org.

I am not interested in playing that game, but the concept to me is fascinating because I believe it is important for us as followers of Jesus Christ. Replace the name of Kevin Bacon and let's think in terms of "Six Degrees of Jesus Christ". We are connected to Him through our Spiritual Genealogy even though we are more than "Six Degrees" away in some ways and closer due to the Holy Spirit. So who was the closest to Jesus? We know that answer is His mother Mary and father Joseph, and the disciples, turned apostles. The next "degree" away from them brings us to some fascinating people that we are linked to but rarely hear of.

The Apostles not only preached Christ to the world, but they mentored and trained others to do the same. They annointed and ordained others to become leaders of churches. We know, for instance, that the apostles Peter and John both spent time with a follower of Jesus called Ignatius. It is believed that John tutored him in the things of faith and that Peter ordained him as Bishop of Antioch. Jesus taught the Apostles and they taught others. So Ignatius was "one degree" from Jesus according to the game. Ignatius was able to hear first hand accounts from the very Apostles who spent over three years with Jesus and then saw Him after the resurrection. Ignatius was and is our brother in Christ and we can be encouraged by his life and death.

It is thrilling to me to read the words of this church leader and to realize that he was instrumental in not only defending the faith but also defining it in the early days of the church. As one who was discipled by the Apostle John, Ignatius was clear on the doctrines he presented. In his writings one can read that he stressed the Virgin Birth of Christ, the doctrine of the Trinity, and the importance of the Lord's Table. For those of you with Catholic backgrounds, you might be interested to know that Ignatius was the first to use the term "Catholic", meaning universal.

While in Antioch leading the church, Ignatius was condemned to death and summoned to Rome. While on his long journey back to Rome to face the executioners, he wrote seven letters that we still have today. He wrote to several of the churches including Rome and Ephesus and to his fellow Bishop Polycarp who was also discipled by the Apostle John. As he journeyed to Rome, Christians would come to see him to encouage him, but he was the one who did the encouraging. He wrote to his friends, "There is water living and speaking in me, saying from within me, 'Come to the Father.'" Ignatius knew he was going to die and in fact he was later thrown to the lions in the Coliseum in Rome.

Today that very same Spirit is drawing each of us to the Father. The ministry of the Holy Spirit and the person of Christ leads us to the Father. Ignatius taught the importance and reality of the Trinity. He understood quite well the role of the Spirit and of Christ, that they were pointing to the Father. We are not "six degrees" away from the Father--He dwells in us through His Spirit.

The Father, your Father, is always drawing you. John tells us that Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him". The Father is drawing you to His Son by the Spirit, and the Son is revealing the Father to you by the Spirit. The Trinity that Ignatius taught is working constantly in your life.

Even in this time of economic, political, and moral uncertainty, the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are calling on us to find our meaning, our peace, our security in Them. We should not forget the words of the Psalmist "For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever." Psalm 117:2. Ignatius lived in a time that was horrific for Christians and yet in the midst of a hostile environment, he could hear the words, "Come to the Father."

No one can really protect you. There is truly no security in this world; there will always be evil and moral failures, and nothing that we hold to tightly will last. Many Christians living in the affluent West are only now beginning to understand this. This week let's remember the words: "It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man". The Father is calling you to not just trust Him, but to be satisfied with Him!

Ignatius was ripped apart by two lions in front of thousands of blood-thirsty people, but not before he encouraged the Christians in Rome with these words: "No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire."

With Eternity in Mind,

Dan Owens

P.S. Please pray for our upcoming ministry in Rwanda and for the finances to complete our mission.

Copyright 2008 Eternity Minded Ministries