As I read Isaiah 45:1-13, there is one, single, consistent, mind-numbing, eternity-changing, thought:
God equips, empowers, and energizes even those who do not know him as Lord and Savior in order to accomplish his majestic purposes.
I ask, “Why does he do this?” The answer comes in verses 5-6:
So that everyone, from east to west, may know that Yahweh is God, and that there is no other.
Truly our God’s mind and will is unsearchable and inscrutable. How awesome are his ways!
Terry Jones, a “pastor” in Florida, is going to host International Burn a Koran Day this Saturday, September 11. You can read more on their Facebook page.
I don’t want to take up space writing about what I think. What I can say is what my wife said this morning: “It’s because of people like this that people hate Christians.” This is true. This guy is a fool. Is that unloving? No. Anyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus and mocks, belittles, and disrespects other people to the degree he is qualifies as such.
I believe that Islam is wrong and that it is a barrier to people seeing Jesus Christ for who he really is. But that doesn’t mean we burn their Korans. It doesn’t mean we hate them. No, we love them. We invite them to talk about their book, and we also ask them to talk about ours.
I want to point you to a great post by Abraham Piper about this. In my opinion, this is Abraham’s most thoughtful post ever, and he’s had some good ones. Thanks Abraham for your clear, thoughtful communication.
In 1 John 3:11-18, John gives us two ways that born again people love.
In verses 11-15, John tells us to rejoice at the greatness of others (especially Christians). He also tells us how not to love. He writes, “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous” (vv. 12). Cain was jealous and was completely unable to rejoice with his brother Abel for his sacrifice offered to God. John continues in verse 15, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” When others succeed, the born again don’t murder them. They rejoice for them. I especially need grace in this. Lord, help me to celebrate the greatness of others instead of envying them!
In verses 16-18, John adds that a born again person loves others (especially Christians) by sacrificing to meet their needs. He writes, “We ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (vv. 16-17). The question is rhetorical. John says, “If you ignore the needs of people you don’t really have God’s love in you!” Lord, help me give sacrificially to others who are in need!
John ends with this tender, yet firm, command: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (v. 18). This doesn’t mean that we only love through actions. It doesn’t mean you are excused from saying to a Christian brother or sister, “I love you” (in a non-romantic sense!). It also does not mean that people get saved because we give them food or drink. Don’t mistake John: gospel people speak loving words, and the gospel message still needs to be spoken to non-Christians. Without loving, sacrificial actions (like rejoicing for people and providing for their basic needs), the gospel will not be taken seriously.
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Update: To clarify, when I say “greatness of others,” this may refer to whatever reflection of our Creator you see in others. No one has inherent greatness (see Rom. 3:10-12), but God bestows upon his people a taste of his glory in our character, personality, talents, abilities, etc. As for non-Christians, they are also made in the image of God and still have amazing talents, abilities, and creative capacities. We should celebrate these things in them as well and help point them to their Creator who gave them these gifts.
Next Wednesday, I’m teaching our high school students at our church on being others-centered. As I am starting to prepare for this message, I can’t help restructure my thinking to look like this:
We must be Christ-centered, not others-centered. We must be others-oriented, not self-oriented.
The problem with being others-centered is that this can lead to idolatry of people. If we center our thoughts, actions, and words around a person, we will inevitably do things simply to please them or to earn their praise. The world does this every minute of the day. If we become people-centered people, we will seek to (even unknowingly) glorify them.
On the other hand, if we are Christ-centered, we will do everything for his glory — and not to please people or be praised by them. When Christ is the blazing center of our lives we will be able to orient our efforts, resources, attitudes, actions, and thoughts toward others because we will want them to know him.
If Christ is our center and foundation, we will be able to do what the Apostle Paul called us to do: “In humility count others more significant than yourselves.” And the ultimate goal of this humility is God’s glory: “Therefore God has highly exalted [Christ] and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:3, 9-11).
According to the Department of Public Health in Nebraska (my state), here’s why people had abortions last year:
(via)
I have been looking for a way to express this for some time now. Thanks, again, to John Piper, for his articulate, weighty, passionate, biblical explanation. The quote below comes from a sermon in 2004 called “Discerning the Will of God Concerning Homosexuality and Marriage.”
Piper’s words are targeted at the conservative Evangelical movement. He is calling Christians to be radical and stand out and apart from that movement. As a Christian, with Christ-centered, biblical values, I find myself in tension here in America. As I grow older and more mature (in my faith and in life in general) I notice that I distance myself from both the mainstream conservatives and liberals. Neither of them hold to radical, Christ-centered values. I can’t be a cocky, conservative, political cynic and then try to identify with Jesus. There’s no room for both.
This paragraph helps me. I hope, if you are a Christian, it helps you too.
We do not smirk at the misery or the merrymaking of immoral culture. We weep. Know any good conservative talk show hosts that weep? Name one. Being pilgrims does not mean being cynical. That’s the name of the game. The salt of the earth does not mock rotting meat. It tries to preserve, savor, and when it can’t it weeps. Being Christian pilgrims in American culture does not end our influence, it takes the swagger out of it. There’s so many strutting conservatives! Including our President [Bush]. And strutting democrats. “Can say no wrong, can make no mistake, I’ve got all the answers.” STRUT, STRUT, STRUT! That is not the demeanor of an evangelical pilgrim who knows he’s fallen, knows he’s broken…We don’t get cranky when evil triumphs, we don’t whine when things don’t go the way we want them to in our culture. It isn’t our culture, heaven is our culture. We’re not hardened with anger. We understand what’s happening now. Why? Because we saw it happen 2,000 years ago. We hear, just like they heard…the imperial words of the Lord Jesus, “If they hated me, they will hate you. Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you…if you love only those who love you, what do you do more than others? Even the tax collectors do that. If you greet only your brothers, what do you do more than others? Even the Gentiles do that. You must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” His way was so different than the seeming pervasive Evangelical, conservative, strutting, swaggering, cocky, cynical way.
Read or watch the whole thing.
This morning I was reminded of the things I go to for salvation other than God. The list was quite depressing. In the prophet Isaiah’s day, the people of Israel went to a literal savior, whose name was Egypt. Assyria was going to attack and Israel made a political alliance with Egypt — the same Egypt who held them as slaves for decades.
Isaiah 30:7 says, “Egypt’s help is worthless and empty; therefore I have called her ‘Rahab who sits still.’” Don’t get caught up on the “Rahab.” God’s simply saying, “Egypt sits still — they don’t do anything for you.” Egypt couldn’t provide eternal comfort and salvation for Israel. So, I asked myself, “What is my Egypt, today, in the 21st century?” I thought of knowledge, spiritual disciplines, security, “normalcy”, passionate prayers, vibrant worship, my lifestyle and worldview, self-pity, and isolation.
I don’t have a physical place to run to, but these functional saviors are what comfort me when I am surrounded by troubles. Instead of running to God, I run to things that “sit still.” Some of those things are good things. But if I make them ultimate things, they go from good to god, and I become an idolater.
The great news is that God is excited to rescue me. Later on, in verse 18, after all rebellion that is ascribed to Israel (and me), Isaiah writes, “Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.”
The logic of God’s amazing grace is illogical to us. I am rebellious, therefore he waits — longs, yearns — to show me grace and mercy and faithfulness. This salvation is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, the one who died for us sinners, who were his enemies, to reconcile us to God (Rom. 5:6-8).
My Egypts will not, and cannot, ever do that.
