This makes me pause...

Kyle Lake--the 33-year-old pastor of University Baptist Church of Waco--passed away yesterday. He died in the baptistry of his church from grabbing the microphone while standing in shoulder-deep water.

I don't know Kyle personally, but I had heard of his efforts first as Community Pastor and then as Senior Pastor of UBC Waco. I went to the church's site and listened to his last sermon from a couple of weeks ago. It was intense--for me--as he dealt with the subject of apparently unanswered prayers. He didn't know it would be his last taped sermon.

He suggested that perhaps the prayers we view as unanswered are actually answered. And that we don't always perceive the answers even as God answers prayer. And that we should trust he IS actively answering prayers.

Today I received Avery Willis' Prayer Letter regarding his efforts to minister the gospel around the world. You might recognize Avery's name if you went through MasterLife discipleship in the 80s or 90s. He is one of the most gifted innovators of strategies for eveangelism and is currently working on a ministry that was called EPIC but that will become OneStory.

In his words: "OneStory is a two-year training and mentoring program to help two-year personnel translate and record 50-60 Bible stories in the languages of unreached peoples, most of whom have no Bible translation or work among them."

In each Prayer Letter he lists both the prayers for the current month and the specific answers to the previous months. It is an amazing blessing to read about the answers to prayer that Avery distributes...and it always encourages me to pray seriously for his (and the International Mission Board's) ministry.

I thought of Kyle as I read Avery's letter this morning. Sometimes the prayers are answered immediately...especially when many pray. Kyle pointed out that Moses changed God's mind once when God was very angry with the Hebrews/Israelites. Then another time Moses was frustrated and God changed his mind. Isn't that beautiful?

P.S. If you would like to hear directly from Avery and support his ministry in prayer, drop me a line (my signature has my gmail account set up as mailto:). And while you're doing that, won't you pray that God would replace Kyle with another Godly man who is also after God's own heart? And that many would be saved because of the situation at UBC Waco??

Go to full article...

Oh to Grace how great a debtor...

So if you really get Grace, then you get this phrase from "Come, Thou Font of Every Blessing":

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee:
prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, oh, take and seal it,
seal it for thy courts above.
--Words by Robert Robertson, 1758

Think through those words carefully. They are beautiful beyond imagination...well, beyond mine at least. My debt to Grace is SOOOO great. Every day I accumulate new debt...but not of the overwhelming, burdening kind.

No, God's grace FREES ME. ("You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.") He unburdens me. He breaks the bonds of slavery to sin (daily). He raptures my SOUL DAILY into his presence (if I am willing to go there). And enraptures ME in the process.

Leslie Phillips sings on "Black & White in a Grey World":

Waiting for angry words to sear my soul
Knowing I don't deserve another chance
Suddenly the kindest words I've ever heard
Come flooding from God's heart
(Chorus)
It's your kindness that leads us
To repentance Oh Lord
Knowing that You love us
No matter what we do
Makes us want to love You too

Where does that phrase come from?? It comes from Paul's systematic theological explanation of the need and providence of God's salvation:

^{Romans 2:4 NIV} Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

Paul deals with the necessity of slavery: either to God or to sin. So Robert Robertson writes "Let thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to thee." Mr. Robertson responds to Paul's theme of the struggle between the sin nature and the redeemed nature of man when he writes "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the one I love." He responds to that with the only sensible solution: "Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above."

That echoes Paul's belief statement on the security of the believer in 2 Timothy 1:12b: "...I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day."

What we often miss is the context where he says that:

^{2 Timothy 1:8-12 NIV} So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, ⁹who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹²That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

Paul suffered but was not ashamed BECAUSE he knows who he believes and BECAUSE he trusts God--despite the trouble--to hold onto HIM. I have to admit that my faith was/is weaker than Paul on this point. There are times when I have felt ashamed over the suffering...because my lack of understanding grew to the point of distrust. But I remain convinced (based in part on this testimony by Paul) that God continues to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

And that is precisely the point of Grace. The Law can't accomplish what Grace can accomplish. Only Grace can accomplish the revelation of God's incredible love. The Law reveals his holiness and his requirements. And it stands to affirm that sinful man is without ANY hope once in the hands of an angry and righteous God.

Without any hope except for one: that God is not arbitrary or whimsical and that his essential nature is to express Love through Grace in order to redeem us.

Therefore: "Oh to Grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be!!"

Go to full article...

Trouble and Grace

Help me out if you would. Have you ever had this thought:

"Isn't bankruptcy an awful lot like grace?"

The reason I ask that question is that we Christians often don't really believe in grace. We'll spend time setting up rules for ourselves and others that are well-intentioned: those rules are designed to keep us/them from offending God or designed to keep us/them from causing other Christians to stumble.

We reason very well that if everyone would just follow all of these rules, then they won't get in trouble!! And once we've convinced ourselves of that, it becomes easy to justify writing new rules.

One of the current set of "guidelines" that is cycling through Christian communities is that debt is forbidden by the Bible. This is backed by appealing to verses that, taken in isolation, seem to forbid either lending-related or borrowing-related activities.

One that often comes up is this jewel: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be." It sounds Bible-based, of course, either from the phrasing or just the sensibility of it. But it isn't Biblical. It is actually some 16 centuries YOUNGER than the Bible. It comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet and is a comment by Polonius to his son.

Not to be deterred, many turn to either Proverbs 22:7 (also 6:15) or Romans 13:7-10 to try and create/sustain an absolute prohibition on borrowing. While all wisdom is from God and I believe we can trust that God only allowed 'wisdom' to be included that is understandable / explainable, we also recognize that some of the Proverbs and much of the book of Ecclesiastes represent a certain amount of "worldly" wisdom that might be called "under the sun" wisdom.

And the passage in Romans MUST be viewed in context. It comes in a passage where Paul intentionally deals with the difference between worldly authorities and the higher priority of spiritual principles that exceed normal worldly "rules"/authority. So Paul speaks first of authorities. Then he speaks of owing authorities (i.e. taxes, honor, respect). Then he speaks of, essentially, never being in arrears to those authorities.

This becomes a little clearer in the NASB ("Render to all what is due them...") and the ASV ("Render to all their dues:..."). From there Paul transitions to the spiritual. In the NIV verse Romans 13:8 comes out: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law." I think the NIV translation captures the intent very well of what Paul was saying...and remember that Paul was a Jew's Jew so when he talks about fulfilling the LAW he means the Torah...

So what does the Torah require? I'm going to give you some passages to look up and study:

Exodus 22:25-27, Leviticus 25:35-37, Deuteronomy 15:1-12, and Deuteronomy 28:12-13, 43-45. Each passage deals with some aspect of borrowing or lending. The passages occur in the context of addressing the Hebrew nation that is about to posses the land of Israel...i.e. be established as a "landed" new nation as opposed to being wanderers (Hebrew is believed to come from the ancient Semitic word `bri with the breath mark at the beginning having the approximate pronunciation of a softly voiced 'h'.)

But the most fascinating of these passages is this one:

^{Deuteronomy 15:1-12 NIV} At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. ² This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. ³ You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. ⁴ However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, ⁵ if only you fully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. ⁶ For the LORD your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you.

⁷ If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. ⁸ Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. ⁹ Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. ¹⁰ Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. ¹¹ There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

¹² If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free.

Why is that passage interesting? Look at how God calls over and over and over for freedom for his people? And for his people to be openhanded? Note the quote "There will always be poor people in the land." Does that sound familiar to you?

Remember the disciples complaining about the wasted perfume? And Jesus said "There will be poor always"? He was quoting (from memory) from this passage! That means that we can count on this passage being something he had read and if anyone at that meal recognized it, that Jesus mentioned it in order to get those there to go read and remind themselves of God's desire for graciousness BY his people.

Specifically look at this: "¹At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. ² This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD's time for canceling debts has been proclaimed."

The LORD's time for cancelling debts is every 7 years. If you file chapter 7 in the US and have your debts discharged, you may not file again IF you have filed in the previous six years. Only in the SEVENTH year can you file again. Hmm...how...umm...coincidental??

Banks refer to an interesting concept in making a loan. The concept that a borrower will voluntarily choose to default on a loan is called "moral hazard." Note that the Torah doesn't directly consider the problem of "moral hazard" with respect to the BORROWER. But it does anticipate the "moral hazard" of not LENDING money to the needy:

"Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."

Even with the latest dating by the most liberal scholars, this passage dates to at least 1,000 BC/BCE...to approximately the Kingdom of David. And if it traces back to the exodus it's at least 3,200 years old. What an amazing picture of grace this is.

But how do we as Christians respond to those that file for bankruptcy? Do you feel the person is cheating? Getting out cheap? Not working hard enough? Misusing his reputation (and perhaps other Christians') by accumulating obligations and then not repaying them?

Do you feel the urge to counsel people to pay off ALL of their debt when they are overwhelmed? Does your church have a plan for helping out those who are unable to manage their finances: both those who have made mistakes in borrowing AND those who God has allowed to be overwhelmed with the events of life?

Here is the heart of the issue that I'm getting at: when you see someone in trouble, do you extend grace to them? The grace that God has already given to you?

After all, the Law calls for Grace.

P.S. I addressed this before in Is bankruptcy a form fo grace?. I'm revisiting it in part because my friend just told me about his efforts to dissolve a business and to resolve his personal indebtedness that resulted from trying to keep the business going and keep the people employed.

Go to full article...