"They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us." I John 2:19
To Christians throughout the world, this week is known as Holy Week. Holy Week lasts from Palm Sunday through Resurrection Sunday and includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. Since the early church, Holy Week has been the most celebrated time on the Christian calendar. In fact, one can read church history and find that many of the events of Holy Week were being celebrated by the second century. By the fourth century, the week as we know it was certainly defined.
The church has always taught that Holy Week is a time of self reflection, repentance, and renewal in light of the Passion of Christ. It's unfortunate that we have lost much of the solemnity of the week that from earliest days included fasting, prayer, and confession. We tend to want to celebrate without dealing with our own short comings and sin. As Protestants, I know that we may have a resistance to this because it sounds like something from the Catholic Church; yet, history does not lie and to this day, for the most part, they make much more out of Holy Week than we do. (Since writing this I discovered an article in 'Christianity Today' written by Ted Olsen that validates this point.)
John may not have used the words 'Holy Week', but he knew these to be important days. The most important day of the church calendar has always been Resurrection Sunday. God came to earth in the form of a man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose from the dead in order to restore our relationship with the Father. That is the message of Christ and the cross.
Even from the earliest days there were those who tried to deceive the 'sheep' by teaching things contrary to what the apostles had taught. In today's passage John clearly tells his readers that there were anti-christs that started with the church and then broke away. They were, as Jesus would call them, wolves in sheep's clothing. John said they were recognizable by the very fact that they split off from the church to teach a doctrine that was unfamiliar to the church at that time.
As early as the beginning of the second century there were major heresies that were being taught and they had to do with the all important nature of Christ. There were the Docetists who denied the reality of Christ's humanity, the Cerinthians who taught that Jesus was anointed with divinity for a period of time but was not God, and the Gnostics who were a thorn in the church's side for centuries. These people started in the church and left; thus, John calls them anti-christs. They never went away quietly; they always took others with them.
This is the greatest time of the year to ask ourselves these questions: "What do I really believe about Christ?" "Was He truly God in flesh and blood or was He just a good teacher and a moral man?" "What difference does His life and death make in my life and death?" "Do I really follow Him as my Lord or, like so many others, have I not remained?"
As C.S. Lewis wrote regarding the resurrection, "If the thing happened, it was the central event in the history of the earth." It stands to reason, then, that it would be central in my life as well. The resurrection of Christ means that He is alive and, since He is alive and is truly God, then I am accountable to Him. I can worship Him, revere Him, honor Him, and love Him, but I must also trust and obey Him. Easter is not just a nice time for a new dress, an Easter egg hunt, or a family dinner. No, it should be a time for deep reflection of my response to His great love for me!
Augustine put it well:
To my God a heart of flame;
To my fellow man a heart of love;
To myself a heart of steel.
During Holy Week we should examine our hearts in relationship to God, our fellow man, and ourselves. Celebrate Holy Week to the fullest and praise God for sending His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sin.
A Holy Easter to You,
Dan Owens
Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries
Monday, March 29, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
IT’S THE LAST HOUR - DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?
“Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.” 1 John 2:18
The movie “2012” is now out on DVD. No, I am not going to watch it or buy it. In spite of all the hype on television, I thought it was interesting that the movie did not last long in the theaters. Perhaps it’s because we have heard these ‘end of the world’ stories before.
In the short span of my life, there have been numerous times that I have heard people say the world was coming to an end. Even now, there are prophecy preachers, most notably with their own television shows, also predicting the end of the world in “2012”. They are selling tons of materials, books, DVD’s, and CD’s just like they have been doing for decades. I have no doubt that the world as we know it could come to an end in 2012; but it could also come to an end this year or 200 years from now.
One of the great pleasures of reading history, and more specifically church history, is that one can see how each generation felt like theirs was the last. Even the disciples, who knew Christ better than anyone else on earth, thought that He meant He was coming back in their life time. There have always been Christians whose lives were so persecuted that they knew the return of Christ must be just around the corner.
One thing we do know is that we are in the last age in regards to salvation history. We are now awaiting the return of Jesus Christ. If you think like I do, then you are probably wondering what is taking the Lord so long in light of the chaos in our world. Our world systems are just not working and we need Christ the King! I am reminded of the words of St. Augustine when he wrote, “It is the last hour. It may be an extended one but it is the last hour.”
John had already felt the barbs of persecution as he had been exiled, but not before seeing (or at least hearing of) his friends and fellow disciples killed for their faith. Surely Christ was coming back soon, so he writes, “Dear children this is the last hour…” But alas, it’s been 2,000 years and we still eagerly await His return. Or do we?
When it comes to prophecy and those who teach it, especially those that are profiting by it, I know that I battle cynicism. One guy says this and another says that. Who can you believe? I could well infuriate some folks with this statement, but I think most prophecy conferences are more about entertainment. The men that I heard speak on this subject as a young man would have been stoned already (an Old Testament practice), since they have proven themselves to be false prophets by not getting Christ’s return right. The Lord’s return is not something to make money on or the means to draw a crowd; it’s much, much deeper than that.
By reading through the ages of church history, one can see that whenever there were great persecutions and it felt like the end was near, the Christians focused on two things: personal holiness and the spreading of the Gospel. There were no prophecy conferences during the reign and persecution of Nero or Diocletian; but there was Christianity in its highest form. Even in the reign of terror, people were coming to Christ as they were attracted to the holiness of the Christians.
In 150 A.D. Justin wrote, “He [Christ] has not wished us to imitate the wicked, but rather by our patience and meekness to draw all men from shame and evil desires. This we can show in the case of men who were once on your side but have turned from the ways of violence and tyranny, overcome by observing the consistent lives of their neighbors, or noting the strange patience of their injured acquaintances, or experiencing the way they did business with them.” Justin makes it clear that the Christ-like behavior of the Christians had an evangelistic impact on those outside the church.
I doubt that many of us wake up each morning with the thought that Christ could return today! How would that impact our thoughts and behavior? I would dare to say that we would make a few changes if we got into the habit of sipping that first cup of morning coffee and saying, “This could be the day!”
J.C. Ryle was the first Anglican Bishop of Liverpool. I believe it was in 1879 that he wrote a masterpiece called Holiness. He stated that, “Sound Protestant and Evangelical doctrine is useless if it is not accomplished by a holy life.” This makes me think of one prophecy speaker that is now on his fourth or fifth wife! Holiness?! What difference does it make if I am pre-this or post-that if I do not live the life Christ indwelt me for?
Bishop Ryle writes in his book, “True holiness does not consist merely of believing and feeling, but of doing and bearing, and a practical exhibition of active and passive grace.” This comes from what is inside our hearts. Francis of Assisi reminds us, “A worldly spirit loves to talk a lot but do nothing, striving for the exterior signs of holiness that people can see, with no desire for true piety and interior holiness of spirit.”
Looking for the return of Christ should be something in our hearts, just like that of the mother who looks for her son to return from war. We should long for our heavenly home as much as we long to return home after a journey. And in our waiting and longing, we should be filled with the desire to be holy, to be Christ-like in our thoughts, affections, and behavior.
With eternity in mind,
Dan Owens
Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries
The movie “2012” is now out on DVD. No, I am not going to watch it or buy it. In spite of all the hype on television, I thought it was interesting that the movie did not last long in the theaters. Perhaps it’s because we have heard these ‘end of the world’ stories before.
In the short span of my life, there have been numerous times that I have heard people say the world was coming to an end. Even now, there are prophecy preachers, most notably with their own television shows, also predicting the end of the world in “2012”. They are selling tons of materials, books, DVD’s, and CD’s just like they have been doing for decades. I have no doubt that the world as we know it could come to an end in 2012; but it could also come to an end this year or 200 years from now.
One of the great pleasures of reading history, and more specifically church history, is that one can see how each generation felt like theirs was the last. Even the disciples, who knew Christ better than anyone else on earth, thought that He meant He was coming back in their life time. There have always been Christians whose lives were so persecuted that they knew the return of Christ must be just around the corner.
One thing we do know is that we are in the last age in regards to salvation history. We are now awaiting the return of Jesus Christ. If you think like I do, then you are probably wondering what is taking the Lord so long in light of the chaos in our world. Our world systems are just not working and we need Christ the King! I am reminded of the words of St. Augustine when he wrote, “It is the last hour. It may be an extended one but it is the last hour.”
John had already felt the barbs of persecution as he had been exiled, but not before seeing (or at least hearing of) his friends and fellow disciples killed for their faith. Surely Christ was coming back soon, so he writes, “Dear children this is the last hour…” But alas, it’s been 2,000 years and we still eagerly await His return. Or do we?
When it comes to prophecy and those who teach it, especially those that are profiting by it, I know that I battle cynicism. One guy says this and another says that. Who can you believe? I could well infuriate some folks with this statement, but I think most prophecy conferences are more about entertainment. The men that I heard speak on this subject as a young man would have been stoned already (an Old Testament practice), since they have proven themselves to be false prophets by not getting Christ’s return right. The Lord’s return is not something to make money on or the means to draw a crowd; it’s much, much deeper than that.
By reading through the ages of church history, one can see that whenever there were great persecutions and it felt like the end was near, the Christians focused on two things: personal holiness and the spreading of the Gospel. There were no prophecy conferences during the reign and persecution of Nero or Diocletian; but there was Christianity in its highest form. Even in the reign of terror, people were coming to Christ as they were attracted to the holiness of the Christians.
In 150 A.D. Justin wrote, “He [Christ] has not wished us to imitate the wicked, but rather by our patience and meekness to draw all men from shame and evil desires. This we can show in the case of men who were once on your side but have turned from the ways of violence and tyranny, overcome by observing the consistent lives of their neighbors, or noting the strange patience of their injured acquaintances, or experiencing the way they did business with them.” Justin makes it clear that the Christ-like behavior of the Christians had an evangelistic impact on those outside the church.
I doubt that many of us wake up each morning with the thought that Christ could return today! How would that impact our thoughts and behavior? I would dare to say that we would make a few changes if we got into the habit of sipping that first cup of morning coffee and saying, “This could be the day!”
J.C. Ryle was the first Anglican Bishop of Liverpool. I believe it was in 1879 that he wrote a masterpiece called Holiness. He stated that, “Sound Protestant and Evangelical doctrine is useless if it is not accomplished by a holy life.” This makes me think of one prophecy speaker that is now on his fourth or fifth wife! Holiness?! What difference does it make if I am pre-this or post-that if I do not live the life Christ indwelt me for?
Bishop Ryle writes in his book, “True holiness does not consist merely of believing and feeling, but of doing and bearing, and a practical exhibition of active and passive grace.” This comes from what is inside our hearts. Francis of Assisi reminds us, “A worldly spirit loves to talk a lot but do nothing, striving for the exterior signs of holiness that people can see, with no desire for true piety and interior holiness of spirit.”
Looking for the return of Christ should be something in our hearts, just like that of the mother who looks for her son to return from war. We should long for our heavenly home as much as we long to return home after a journey. And in our waiting and longing, we should be filled with the desire to be holy, to be Christ-like in our thoughts, affections, and behavior.
With eternity in mind,
Dan Owens
Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries
Monday, March 1, 2010
Only in His Power
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does- comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” I John 2:15-17
These verses are like old friends to me. They have been in and around my life since I first started going to church as a teenager. Whenever I read these verses I am made to pause and to reflect. Yes, I am made to evaluate my affections.
So what do these verses really mean? Is it wrong to enjoy life? Is it sinful to own a car or a home, or to enjoy a family vacation? Well, the answer to those questions is both yes and no. I think most of us already know that intuitively.
The word ‘world’ is used in the true sense here as an enemy of God. It includes everything that is opposed to God. We are not talking about the created world - the flowers, the birds, and the sea; we are talking about the man-made systems of this world. We are talking about man-made comforts, distractions, and sins that turn the heart away from the Father. Jesus said quite clearly, “Man cannot serve two masters” and John brings that teaching into focus in the verses above.
John is telling us that the real Christian will be aware of the triune assault that seeks to destroy our relationship with the Father. From the beginning of time, every generation has had to battle these enemies or be taken captive by them.
1. The lust of the flesh. We are being assaulted every day by the lust for things that bring pleasure to the flesh. We often think of this in terms of sensual enticements, but this word goes far beyond that. The lust of the flesh is anything that brings a disordered amount of pleasure to the flesh. It can be sexual, it can be eating, it can be laziness, it can be a shortcut; it can be anything that is motivated by selfishness that brings us pleasure.
2. The lust of the eyes. We are bombarded almost every minute of the day by advertisements, things that we are told we need. If we are not careful, we begin to believe that we not only need these things, but we are entitled to them. Our eyes tell us that we need something new, even though the old is not worn out. Our eyes tell us to be discontent until we are satisfied with that shiny new thing.
3. The pride of life. We are assailed by feelings of pride when we attain the lust of the flesh and the lust of eyes. We are proud of what we have done and what we have acquired. The pride of life is not meant here as a passing thought, but as a state of general conceit. As one sets himself up as the center of his universe without love for anyone but himself, this sin is the grossest of them all.
Each and every day we are threatened by these three enemies. We are pushed to be consumed by everything that is either against God, or just slowly pushes Him away. God made the world, and we often turn our backs on Him to pursue those very things that are against Him.
The heart is very deceitful and only the Holy Spirit can steer us clear of being just another consumer living on planet earth. Only in His power can we use self control to say ‘no’ to ourselves and to the world that wants to enslave us. I am always amazed by the double talk of our worldly system. We have commercials that help us with credit card debt while at the same time we have commercials that tell us how we should use credit cards because we deserve to buy something that makes us feel good. We hear news stories of people of notoriety having marriage or sexual problems; yet, the world promotes infidelity non-stop through the media and makes it seem as normal as ordering at McDonalds. Only the Spirit of God can break through all of this to help us see the lies, the danger, the prison, and the whole world matrix that would like to destroy us.
Gregory was born in Rome to wealthy parents in 540 A.D. He was of the privileged class and his future was bright. Gregory, however, chose a different path and renounced wealth and class and became a minister instead. Familiar with the three temptations we have looked at, he disciplined his life in such a way that he could continually defeat them. Here are the words of Gregory as he wrote to his people regarding the things of this world:
“I would like to urge you to forsake everything, but that I do not presume to do. Yet, if you cannot give up everything of this world, at least keep what belongs to the world in such a way that you yourself are not kept prisoner by the world. Whatever you possess must not possess you; whatever you own must be under the power of your soul; for if your soul is overpowered by the love of this world’s goods, it will be totally at the mercy of its possessions. In other words, we make use of temporal things, but our hearts are set on what is eternal. Temporal goods help us on our way, but our desire must be for those eternal realities which are our goal.”
May the eyes of our soul not grow dull by the power of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Let us embrace the Father to a much greater degree than we embrace this world!
Running Towards the Father,
Dan Owens
Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries
These verses are like old friends to me. They have been in and around my life since I first started going to church as a teenager. Whenever I read these verses I am made to pause and to reflect. Yes, I am made to evaluate my affections.
So what do these verses really mean? Is it wrong to enjoy life? Is it sinful to own a car or a home, or to enjoy a family vacation? Well, the answer to those questions is both yes and no. I think most of us already know that intuitively.
The word ‘world’ is used in the true sense here as an enemy of God. It includes everything that is opposed to God. We are not talking about the created world - the flowers, the birds, and the sea; we are talking about the man-made systems of this world. We are talking about man-made comforts, distractions, and sins that turn the heart away from the Father. Jesus said quite clearly, “Man cannot serve two masters” and John brings that teaching into focus in the verses above.
John is telling us that the real Christian will be aware of the triune assault that seeks to destroy our relationship with the Father. From the beginning of time, every generation has had to battle these enemies or be taken captive by them.
1. The lust of the flesh. We are being assaulted every day by the lust for things that bring pleasure to the flesh. We often think of this in terms of sensual enticements, but this word goes far beyond that. The lust of the flesh is anything that brings a disordered amount of pleasure to the flesh. It can be sexual, it can be eating, it can be laziness, it can be a shortcut; it can be anything that is motivated by selfishness that brings us pleasure.
2. The lust of the eyes. We are bombarded almost every minute of the day by advertisements, things that we are told we need. If we are not careful, we begin to believe that we not only need these things, but we are entitled to them. Our eyes tell us that we need something new, even though the old is not worn out. Our eyes tell us to be discontent until we are satisfied with that shiny new thing.
3. The pride of life. We are assailed by feelings of pride when we attain the lust of the flesh and the lust of eyes. We are proud of what we have done and what we have acquired. The pride of life is not meant here as a passing thought, but as a state of general conceit. As one sets himself up as the center of his universe without love for anyone but himself, this sin is the grossest of them all.
Each and every day we are threatened by these three enemies. We are pushed to be consumed by everything that is either against God, or just slowly pushes Him away. God made the world, and we often turn our backs on Him to pursue those very things that are against Him.
The heart is very deceitful and only the Holy Spirit can steer us clear of being just another consumer living on planet earth. Only in His power can we use self control to say ‘no’ to ourselves and to the world that wants to enslave us. I am always amazed by the double talk of our worldly system. We have commercials that help us with credit card debt while at the same time we have commercials that tell us how we should use credit cards because we deserve to buy something that makes us feel good. We hear news stories of people of notoriety having marriage or sexual problems; yet, the world promotes infidelity non-stop through the media and makes it seem as normal as ordering at McDonalds. Only the Spirit of God can break through all of this to help us see the lies, the danger, the prison, and the whole world matrix that would like to destroy us.
Gregory was born in Rome to wealthy parents in 540 A.D. He was of the privileged class and his future was bright. Gregory, however, chose a different path and renounced wealth and class and became a minister instead. Familiar with the three temptations we have looked at, he disciplined his life in such a way that he could continually defeat them. Here are the words of Gregory as he wrote to his people regarding the things of this world:
“I would like to urge you to forsake everything, but that I do not presume to do. Yet, if you cannot give up everything of this world, at least keep what belongs to the world in such a way that you yourself are not kept prisoner by the world. Whatever you possess must not possess you; whatever you own must be under the power of your soul; for if your soul is overpowered by the love of this world’s goods, it will be totally at the mercy of its possessions. In other words, we make use of temporal things, but our hearts are set on what is eternal. Temporal goods help us on our way, but our desire must be for those eternal realities which are our goal.”
May the eyes of our soul not grow dull by the power of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Let us embrace the Father to a much greater degree than we embrace this world!
Running Towards the Father,
Dan Owens
Copyright 2010 Eternity Minded Ministries
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